Smart Over Silly
by AraSnow
Summary: Geum Jan-Di is a smart, hard-working girl, who earns a scholarship at an elite private high school, where she finds what she least expects. Her best friend, Oh Ah-Jong, just wants to have fun, but her world changes when she clashes with Jan-Di's rich schoolmates. And The Four Musketeers are not exactly saving damsels in distress.
1. Chapter 1 Meet the Characters

"It's invented by the parents to say that we have to sacrifice ourselves through high school if we want to end up with a rich and handsome husband," stated Soo-Yun, pointing at them with her spoon.

"What does high school have to do with it?" asked Mi-Young.

"The Beast is high school."

"But the Beast is beautiful on the inside," Hyun-Jae pointed out. "Where's the inside beauty of high school?"

"Fun is the inside beauty of high school," replied Ah-Jong.

"That's not what they want us to think," said Soo-Yun.

"The Beauty falls in love with the Beast after they have fun together. If we just relax and enjoy life, good things are bound to happen. **That's** the message."

"Of course that's what you would get out of it, Ah-Jong," observed Mi-Young.

"Good things happened only because they had magic," replied Jun-Ki.

"Magic is real," said Ah-Jong, matter-of-factly.

"Well, the magic formula works if you write it down correctly on your CSAT."

"Jun-Ki," Yong-Jun admonished him, "why do you have to say that word on our very first day?"

The six of them were siting in the school cafeteria, having the first lunch of the new school year. As seniors, the "year of hell" was in front of them, culminating with the big moment of their lives: the CSAT. At the opening ceremony that morning, Principle Bong had made it clear in his speech: they were expected to study every waking moment and to make those waking moments longer than ever before.

Dismissing his friend with a hand wave, Nam Jun-Ki changed the subject.

"Ah-Jong, you went with Jan-Di this morning, didn't you?"

"Sure I did. She couldn't go there completely friendless, could she?"

"And you were a bit curious, too," chuckled Mi-Young.

Ah-Jong raised an eyebrow and gave an impish smile. "And so are you."

"Of course we are!" exclaimed Hyun-Jae. "So what are you waiting for? Tell us about it!"

"Yes," confirmed Soo-Yun, "we want to hear every itsy-bitsy detail."

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Ah-Jong put her chopsticks down and leaned over, taking her storytelling position. The other five heads gathered closer.

"When we got there, the street looked like a luxury motor show. And chauffeurs opened doors for what **seemed** to be normal students, but only at first glance. Once you get closer, you don't even have to see their perfect hair and designer jewelry. It's enough to watch how they walk: like Jo In-Seong or Han Ji-Min on the red carpet."

"I love designer jewelry..." said Soo-Yun dreamily, and Jun-Ki rolled his eyes.

"I love Han Ji-Min," replied Yong-Jun.

"But you wear designer jewelry," said Hyun-Jae, ignoring the boy. "Ah-Jong made those earrings for you."

"Excellent point! We have our own private designer. And I love how you did my hair, Hyun-Jae."

Hyung-Jae gave a proud smile, and then immediately pouted. "But how was Jan-Di? I already miss her."

"So do I," replied Ah-Jong, plaintively. "I hope she's not all by herself right now."

This year was the first since middle school that Oh Ah-Jong was going to spend without her best friend. She was still not used to it.

"What's with these faces?!" asked Jun-Ki, looking surprised. "She's lucky to attend such a school. She'll have better chances to go to a good college and do well in life. With her brain, she really deserves this. You should be happy for her."

"We're happy that she'll do well in life, Jun-Ki," answered Ah-Jong. "But we're sad that we have to stay apart and worried that she's there all by herself."

"It's Geum Jan-Di that we are talking about," said Yong-Jun. "Isn't she the toughest and smartest of us all? She can take 'em."

"Besides," added Jun-Ki, "she's only sacrificing some comfort for one more year, and she'll have her entire life to benefit from that. Like some **other people** should think of doing," he concluded, glaring at Ah-Jong.

As usual, he was too serious. Being in his final year of high school seemed to have aggravated his natural inclination.

"Steve Jobs said that you don't have to plan too much," said Ah-Jong, casually. "You have to follow your heart and the dots will eventually connect themselves."

"It's great that the dots connected for him. But there are even more people, whom you don't see on TV, who '_followed their heart_', and whose dots connected into lousy jobs and penniless lives. Unless you're a genius like Steve Jobs, I suggest you take the more conventional path and study hard."

"But the conventional path is not infallible either. It's like with food. Following the recipe doesn't guarantee success."

The other girls laughed.

"Not for you it doesn't," said Hyun-Jae. "That was more than obvious last evening."

"Did you let Ah-Jong cook for you again?!" asked Yong-Jun, contorting his face in terror.

"We had a Special Start of School Ceremony last evening," explained Ah-Jong, unfazed by his expression. "It was for Jan-Di. But the drinks were good, weren't they?" she asked, turning to Hyun-Jae and grinning.

"Why am I even talking to you, Ah-Jong?" interrupted Jun-Ki. "I see that you won't even bother."

"Please don't be mad at me, Jun-Ki. I'll study. I promise."

"You've been saying that for the entire past semester."

"What can I do if I don't understand math, and if history is so full of things that happened, and half of the books we have to read for literature put me to sleep instantaneously."

"That's only because you don't know how to study," replied Jun-Ki. "Which is not surprising since you've never done it."

"But you learned both English and Japanese, right?" said Mi-Young. "You can learn everything else."

"Well... yes, but those were different. That wasn't study. You know how mom made me do it. Do you know of any cool movie in the math language? Or at least a good song?"

"I can make math lyrics for you, Ah-Jong," said Yong-Jun and declaimed, "It is the sad fate of the logarithmic function/ To look in the mirror and think it's exponential."

His classmates cheered.

"Wow, Yong-Jun, did you just make that up?"

"Did you study without telling us?"

"That has so many layers of meaning!"

"Thank you, my friends! Mi-Young," he said, coming close to the girl, "do you love me now?"

"Get lost," she replied, pushing him away.

* * *

Geum Jan-Di opened her lunch box, glancing around the school cafeteria. It was very different from what she was used to. The fanciest restaurant she had been into didn't look half as good. The students were all in uniform, but there could be no mistaking how well off their families were. It was enough to look at the glittering gems in their earrings, the branded watches around their wrists, and their hair styles that seemed to come straight out of glossy magazines.

She was eating by herself, which was another thing that she wasn't used to. At her old school, she was always together with Ah-Jong and all their friends. Lunches were relaxing and fun, unlike now, when Jan-Di felt all tense and shy.

It was great to be here, of course. She had worked hard to get this scholarship, and she was ready to work even harder from now on. But they had way more work to do than at her old school, and the level of all students seemed overwhelming. It was this fact, more than their money, that was making her feel inadequate.

She flipped back her pony-tail and started to eat, trying to pull herself together. She wasn't inadequate; she had proven her abilities and had received a scholarship at one of the best private schools in Seoul, hadn't she.

People were chatting around her and Jan-Di tried to focus on their conversations instead of her worries.

"Their hotel really is the best. And their spa is Paradise. I was an angel myself when I got out of there."

"What do you think about my new earrings? I bought them last week, on Champs Elysées."

"Très chic, Cho-Hee."

"I have a surprise. Dad convinced The Metro Boys to come and perform at my birthday party."

"It's obvious that she did it. Her thighs couldn't have become so thin overnight."

"And guess who I met in New Caledonia. So Iy-Jung! He was there with his parents and stayed at the same hotel as us."

"You should definitely invite Eun-Hee. We must have someone that we can make fun of."

"What was her mother thinking when she hired such an ugly model? You can't sell make-up with that."

"By the way, where are The Four Musketeers? I have been longing to see them all spring break." Giggles.

"The Ritz is like no other, of course. Paris is not Paris if you don't stay at the Ritz. The best thing about it is the class of everyone in that hotel."

Overseas vacations, naturally... Jan-Di had spent the spring break in Seoul. She had worked at her parents' tea shop in the evenings, but in the mornings, Ah-Jong had taken her on The Tour of Forbidden Places. Her friend had spent almost the entire winter vacation to prepare it. She had written a fake TV drama synopsis, chosen places where she was "considering" to film, and made fake KBS IDs for Jan-Di and herself. They pretended to be the assistants of a KBS director, looking for locations.

Ah-Jong's father had a stunt company, and she would often go with him on the film sets. One day, an assistant director had taken her on a locations hunt, and this was how she had gotten the idea for the Tour. After carefully planning it, she had made a brochure and given it to Jan-Di for her birthday.

Jan-Di couldn't hold back her smile when she recalled everything. She had been very nervous and very excited, following Ah-Jong to The Green House Hotel to see the luxury suites; to Goryeo, the most expensive restaurant in Seoul; to the Roof of the World café, where they had admired the view of the city and had even been served a delicious frappé, on the house. Here, Jan-Di had been scared to death during most of Ah-Jong's conversation with the manager. Later, Ah-Jong herself admitted that she had also been very nervous; but she had kept her cool, entertaining the lady with film set anecdotes and KBS gossip, some true, some invented. They had been chased away from a couple of places, but all in all, the Tour had gone better than expected.

She was half through her lunch when a tall boy with dark hair and handsome features entered the cafeteria, followed by three others, just as good looking. With their entrance, the level of noise increased, girls straightening their backs and widening their smiles.

"Finally, they're here!"

"I thought they would never come!"

"Oh, good! When I didn't see them at the ceremony, I was afraid they had transferred."

"No, I heard they missed the plane from Kyoto yesterday, that's all."

"Oh, why are they sitting so far?"

The four boys sat down at a table where three girls were eating. They all received the remarkable newcomers with pleasure and seemed overjoyed for being the chosen ones.

Five minutes later, the girl with the Parisian earrings suddenly decided that she had finished eating and got up, followed by her friend. They headed for the door, moving like two models on the catwalk. When they reached the boys' table, they stopped to chat. The distance was too great and the cafeteria too noisy for Jan-Di to understand what they were saying, but she could see the girls' smiles and carefully graceful movements. It seemed that Cho-Hee had addressed one of the boys in particular, and he was answering with an indifferent smile.

"Han Cho-Hee is moving fast," observed someone close by.

"Is she trying to make Gu Jun-Pyo jealous?"

"I've heard she prefers Kang Ji-Hoo now."

Apparently, these were the famous Four Musketeers as Jan-Di found out, and she was in the same class as them. By the end of the day, all that she could glean out of overheard conversations and the boys' behavior was that Gu Jun-Pyo was the richest, Kang Ji-Hoo the smartest, So Iy-Jung the most inclined to charm the girls, and Lee Woo-Bin the friendliest. The most popular could not be determined since they all seemed to have other students hovering around them in equal degrees.

* * *

Geum Jan-Di's parents, Moon Se-Gyung and Geum Seung-Jo, owned a small tea-shop in Dongdaemun-Gu, called The Spring Dreams. It was by no means a fancy place, but it was cozy and friendly and popular enough in the neighborhood and among students at the University of Seoul. A lot of the warm welcome that customers were perceiving was due to Jan-Di's mother, who managed the place and liked to talk to the clients and to find entertainment for them. Jan-Di's father was the "wizard's apprentice" as Ah-Jong liked to say; he was the one who combined the teas and made the wonderful cookies. Usually, after school and during weekends, Jan-Di was also there to help her mother.

After the first day of classes was over, Jan-Di got out of the school and waited in front of the gate. Only five minutes passed before she saw her best friend speeding along the road. Ah-Jong slowed down to give Jan-Di time to get on her own bike.

"Hello, main character!" she grinned when she was close enough.

"What is that?" chuckled Jan-Di.

The road in front of the school was narrow, so they had to ride in single file in order to leave room for the cars that took Seungcheon students back home for dinner. Curious, Ah-Jong followed them with her eyes, but there was nothing much to see since most windows were dark.

"So what am I the main character of?" asked Jan-Di as soon as they could be next to each other.

"Of the story about a cool, smart girl's first day at a new high school."

"There's no story, really," said Jan-Di, smiling.

"Huh! You're playing with me. But I will make you speak."

"And what do you want to hear?"

"Everything that went on with you today, but I can't ask any question right now. Hyun-Jae made me promise to wait until they can all hear."

"I guess I'll be very busy this evening," said Jan-Di and playfully rolled her eyes.

"The main character is always busy."

Not much later, the girls entered The Spring Dreams, where a great number of people were impatiently waiting for them. Beside Moon Se-Geong, three girls from her former school were there – Hyun-Jae, Mi-Young, and Soo-Yun. Of course, Yong-Jun had also come. He went wherever Mi-Young went, if he could. Ah-Jong's mother, Choi Sun-Hee, was with them too. She seemed to be just as curious as her daughter.

Jan-Di hugged her friends, more than usually happy to be among them. Though very tired, their eager voices made her feel that she was coming back to life. Soon, with a warm cup of tea and seven curious faces in front of her, she started to talk about her first day of school.

"I've missed you all so much!" she told them. "But the school is great, of course. Classes have only about fifteen students, we each have our own computer, and the teachers are the best I've had. The cafeteria looks better than La Cuccina, and the grounds are taken care of by a professional landscape designer."

Her mother was thrilled and proud. Even though Jan-Di had been granted a scholarship, it was only partially covering the expenses, so it was difficult to keep her there. But Moon Se-Geong was ready to make every sacrifice. Her smart and hard-working daughter was the pride and hope of the family.

After satisfying her mother with details about the classes, teachers, and school equipment, Jan-Di started to talk about what was more interesting to her ex-schoolmates: Seungcheon students.

"They are all children of some company owner or manager or great attorney. They wear expensive jewelry, spend their vacations in Paris or New Caledonia, get plastic surgery, and can't get over themselves."

"Short and meaningful," said Ah-Jong, "like only our dear Jan-Di knows how to be. But you know how we like long stories, so let us hear details. Did you meet anybody special?"

"I spent the day by myself. They kept us really busy," she added quickly, seeing the concerned expressions on their faces. "And I preferred it that way. I have to take a good look at them first before I make friends, right?"

"Right," approved Ah-Jong. "You can't be too careful about that. Then tell us if you saw anybody that you liked. Or just pick them out randomly and describe them."

"There's no escape from Ah-Jong's curiosity," smiled Choi Sun-Hee. "And since I'm a little curious myself, you have at least two of us you need to satisfy."

"Not just two, right?" said Mi-Young, turning to the others, who nodded eagerly.

"I'll tell you all I can. And if you'll think it's too little, just look at the bright side: you'll have more things to hear at our next meetings. One of the girls at the school is the daughter of Seon Kyu-Bok, the chairman of Lambda Group." ("Wow!") "She's frighteningly smart and she's preparing to go to college at Princeton. She only takes some of the lessons with us because she goes through a special program to prepare for studying in America. Then there is Han Cho-Hee, who's the beauty of the school – or at least so she sees herself. But she really is good looking; perfect hair, make-up and jewelry. She does her best. During spring break, she went to Paris and stayed at the Ritz."

"Oh, how well that sounds..." sighed Hyun-Jae. "I can't help but envy such girls who don't have to crave for anything because they have it all."

"Oh, that doesn't necessarily mean they are happier than you," replied Ah-Jong's mother, casually. "That's more a matter of luck than money."

"They are fools if they're not happy when they can have anything they want," said Hyun-Jae.

"I'm sure they can name one or two things they might **not** have," said Sun-Hee. "But what other classmates do you have, Jan-Di?"

"There are these four boys, known as The Four Musketeers, and who are the absolute favorites of the girls in this school. They are very handsome and quite conscious of that too. I didn't see them once without girls trying to get their attention."

The animation that she created was exactly what Jan-Di had expected, and she greatly enjoyed herself seeing her friends' interest reach new heights. The description of each was minutely asked for and given in small portions, designed to incite even more eager questions.

"Kang Ji-Hoo is very smart. Everybody says he's a genius who barely has to study to get perfect scores. Han Cho-Hee, that I just told you about, apparently has her eyes on him. So Iy-Jung is the ultimate charmer who doesn't think any smile to be wasted if it can draw a sigh from a girl. Lee Woo-Bin seemed to be the most approachable of the four. At least he answers equally friendly to all hellos, which can't be said about the last one, Gu Jun-Pyo, who earns the first prize for arrogance."

"Is he the most handsome?" asked Hyun-Jae

"He's the richest of all four. His parents own the Light Island Mall and some luxury apartments buildings, so he probably believes himself above most mortals."

"And what do they look like?" asked Soo-Yun.

"They're generally declared to be the most handsome in the school."

"But which one did you like the most?"

"Lee Woo-Bin is the nicest. And I think So Iy-Jung is the best looking. He has a nice smile that makes dimples in his cheeks."

At this, her friends sighed and giggled, making Yong-Jun roll his eyes.

"You're too blind to see real beauty," he declared. "Mi-Young, why are you smiling like that? Why don't you smile at me like that?"

"Which girls do **they** like?" asked Mi-Young, ignoring him.

"None of them seems in love, though they try to maintain a state of romantic dumbness in as many female students as possible."

"I'd love to see them," said Hyun-Jae.

"We can look them up on the Internet," suggested Ah-Jong.

The idea received enthusiastic approval, and a laptop was produced from the small office that Jan-Di's parents had at the back of the tea shop. Finding their pictures on social networks wasn't very difficult, and each in turn was declared to be the most handsome boy alive.

"I'm in love!" exclaimed Ah-Jong.

"With which one?" asked Jan-Di's mother.

"Luckily, I don't have to decide since I'll never meet them."

"How is not meeting them a lucky thing?" asked Hyun-Jae. "Jan-Di is the lucky one. Did you talk to them?"

Jan-Di laughed. "No, I didn't, and that's not likely to happen soon. They only pay attention to the most popular of the other students. A girl, who was probably not up to their standards, approached them and Gu Jun-Pyo said, _'Are you talking to us?'_. And they all gave her a superior look."

"See?" said Ah-Jong. "That's why it's lucky not to meet them. In pictures they are nice and give us beautiful smiles."

"But Jan-Di, what if one of them likes you?" asked Soo-Yun.

"Each and every Seungcheon student would shudder to hear you say that," smiled Jan-Di.

* * *

The next day wasn't much easier for Jan-Di than the first had been. If any of the students took notice of her, it was with a sideway glance and haughty expression. Han Cho-Hee smirked when she saw her getting to school on a bike, then she said something to her group of girls, and they all laughed. Later, lunch was again lonely, with a couple of students throwing derisive looks at food Jan-Di's mother had packed, before turning to eat the specialties prepared by the school chef.

However, there was much to focus on since school work was more difficult than in the past. Subjects were plenty, lectures were intensive, and there was already a big pile of books to read and extra work to do. On top of that, Jan-Di had less time to study than the others because she had to go to her parents' tea shop early on some evenings and help them out.

She had managed to get permission to change her schedule. On some of the mornings, she got to school one hour earlier, and on Thursdays and Fridays she didn't join her classmates back to the study hall. Instead, she spent two more hours studying at home after the tea shop closed. Once she took the first test, she would have to get a high score in order to be allowed to continue like this.

The first week went by so fast, that Jan-Di was surprised to find herself approached by her best friend with plans for the weekend. Sunday was anticipated to be warm and sunny, and Ah-Jong had planned a basketball game. They were to be joined by Hyun-Jae, Mi-Young, Yong-Jun, and two other boys from their school. The plan was more than welcome after a difficult first week, so she was happy to leave her books for a few hours.

* * *

Exhausted but with a big smile on her face, Ah-Jong dropped on the bench near Jan-Di. She had just finished the two against two game, and their adversaries remained on the field, now facing another pair.

"I'm sorry we lost, Ah-Jong," said Mi-Young, sitting down on Jan-Di's other side.

"Oh, we were both tired, and those boys are too tall," replied Ah-Jong, taking a camera out of her bag. "When did they grow up so much?"

"A couple of years ago," replied Jan-Di, smiling.

"I can't believe how fast things are changing," said Mi-Young. "Here we are, boys much taller even than Ah-Jong, Jan-Di is at a different school, and we're only months away from the big day."

"Ugh, yes," grimaced Ah-Jong, rising from her seat to take pictures of the game. "This loom of the big day is starting to make its appearance everywhere."

"When they started their first lesson," said Jan-Di, "each of our teachers talked about it in the scariest terms. Though I think I'm the only one who is really nervous. The others seem very confident."

Mi-Young exclaimed with surprise at Jan-Di's fears, but Ah-Jong nodded with satisfaction.

"If you're nervous, then you'll do a good job because you'll be focused."

"And you're very smart," added Mi-Young. "You were the best at our school."

"I'm afraid I won't be the best at Seungcheon. I just hope I won't be the last."

"Seungcheon must be really frightening if you think that!" exclaimed Ah-Jong, sitting down again. "How much smarter can those students be?"

"They received the best possible education ever since kindergarten, and they've had heavy tutoring starting from before their ages had two figures. It seems to me that they are proficient in... well, everything!"

"But you got accepted there even without getting a single private tutoring hour. That's big, isn't it?"

"It is," smiled Jan-Di. "But now the game changed. I didn't think they'd be so good."

"We trust you," said Mi-Young. "Soon, **you** will surprise **them**."

Jan-Di just gave a faint smile and said nothing. It was her friends' expectations and trust in her abilities that were the most stressful. Now that she compared herself to her new schoolmates, she was afraid of disappointing everyone.

"Just focus well," said Ah-Jong, "do you're best, and it can only turn out well."

"I love it that you're such an optimist, Ah-Jong," said Jan-Di with a smile. "And **you** should also focus on studying."

"I know... I will. I mean, I've already started..."

"But you're taking it slow to avoid a shock, right?" laughed Mi-Young.

"My memory is slippery from lack of use. Information just slides away from it."

"Your memory is too full of things you don't need," said Mi-Young. "Information doesn't slide, it bounces off. Like from an overinflated balloon."

"Your memory is just fine," said Jan-Di. "You just need to learn how to study. Tonight, we're going to make a schedule for you, and I'll give you my notebooks."

"Thank you, Jan-Di, but don't waste your time with me. I'll get going, I promise. I guess there's no other hope now, is there," said Ah-Jong. She had a casual manner, but Jan-Di thought she looked a little depressed. "I should have started earlier, but I was so sure I wouldn't need college! My last hope was the arts high school."

Jan-Di remained silent and bowed her head. She was sorry for her friend and sensed her confusion.

"It's difficult to get in there," said Mi-Young, "and you didn't really have that much dancing training."

Jan-Di thought that was a little too harshly said, but she agreed that it was true. Ah-Jong's chances of being accepted hadn't been great, but her friend had insisted on practicing for the entire autumn.

"That's behind you, Ah-Jong," said Jan-Di. "Now you need to do your best."

"I will, of course. But switching from using my body to using my brain isn't easy. I need an adjustment period."

"As long as you don't take too much time adjusting."

"She won't," declared Jan-Di. "If she doesn't start to study, she's grounded. Tonight you'll make your appearance at The Spring Dreams, with a notebook in one hand and your wits in the other."

"Tonight?" asked Ah-Jong, looking slightly panicked and putting her camera down. "As early as that? I'll have to find my wits first."

"At nine. You can use the time until then to dust your books."

* * *

After she had played one more game, Ah-Jong left together with her friends. Normally, at least some of them would have continued the fun, but today, each went on their way, either to work or to study.

Promising one more time that she would be at The Spring Dreams that evening, Ah-Jong waved good bye to her best friend and headed to her mother's art school. She didn't feel like thinking of studies yet, so she planned to practice on the piano if Choi Sun-Hee wasn't in the middle of a lesson.

The school, called Raw Imagination, was in a quiet neighborhood in Dongdaemun-gu, not far from The Spring Dreams. When she reached it, she found her mother at the computer in her small office.

"It's not free, dear," said Sun-Hee after Ah-Jong had declared her intention. "Mrs. Im Eun-Jung is there with a pupil."

"Oh... Ok... Then can I help you with anything until they are done?" she asked, hopefully.

"There is nothing to do right now. You took care of supplies last week, and I got the books in order."

"Already? Is that why you stayed up so late yesterday? But I could have helped you."

"It wasn't really that much work. You have helped me a lot already... Ah-Jong," she continued, pushing her chair further from the computer to have a better view of her daughter, "you should spend your time studying. I don't want you to worry about our businesses anymore. I will help your father with the books and take care of mine. I've already hired a new drawing teacher, so I'll have more time for these things."

"Yes..." said Ah-Jong, hesitantly. "You're right. I **will** study. Tonight I'm going to meet Jan-Di, and she'll help me draw a revision schedule," she continued, trying to look more enthusiastic than she felt.

"That's good, dear! And have you talked to your homeroom teacher yet?"

"Not yet, but I will."

She didn't want to, though. She knew she had to settle her future somehow, but she didn't feel ready. Not only that, but she feared she had no chance of going to college, and she didn't want to have it confirmed by Teacher Yoon.

"When?" asked Choi Sun-Hee.

"This week. But, mom, we'll still go skiing next weekend, right?"

"We'll go on Saturday, but you have to promise to talk to your teacher about college and to start studying more seriously."

"I promise. But... only on Saturday?"

"It's better like this, don't you think?"

"Yes..."

"So you'll get serious about school, ok?"

"Yes."

"No more drawing cartoons while you're supposed to review for tests?"

"No. The only thing my pencil will produce will be notes."

"And no more cutting the self-study afternoons?"

"Oh... I've only done it for good reasons..."

"I'm not going to comment on how good they were, but you don't have so many reasons now. So no more cutting?"

"Yes..."

"I'll help you study, dear. And once you've learned how to do it, things will get easier. I have to leave you now. The painting class starts in five minutes."

"May I join it?" asked Ah-Jong quickly. "It will... put my mind in a scholarly setting."

Choi Sun-Hee smiled. "All right, you may come. Let's make a deal. You come to my painting class every week, and you may spend another two hours a week doing whatever else you want at home. But that's all. Ok?"

"Thanks, mom!" said Ah-Jong smiling and jumping out of her chair.

* * *

As school weeks went by, Ah-Jong started to get the unpleasant feeling that things had gotten very different from what they had been. Studying had suddenly gained in intensity. Increasing numbers of her classmates were preoccupied with the idea that high school was heading towards the most important exam in their lives, which was to decide the entire course of their future. Discussions at lunch were taking a more serious turn, and the number of hours spent in the study hall were soaring.

Ah-Jong herself joined this wave, but she was not getting on very well. Although Jan-Di had helped her draw a good revision schedule, she was already running behind it. Especially during weekends, it was very difficult to convince herself to study hard, except when her mother was with her.

As already planned, the second Saturday of March was spent skiing for the entire day to take advantage of the last snow of the season. On Sunday, she went out with her friends again, and then for another painting class at her mother's school. Afterwards, she prepared her books and decided that she needed a new strategy to study, so she spent the entire day reading about mind mapping. Studying was postponed.

During the next weekends, she tried to fall into a routine, but most attempts ended up with some new drawing or new idea for a necklace.

She decided to wake up one hour earlier every morning to make up for the lost time. Also, she cut her morning exercise from one full hour to only half. More at her parent's bid than at her own wish, the visits to the climbing wall that her father had for stunt men's training were reduced to only one a week.

Still, with all these efforts to upgrade her studying habits, her success was very limited. All the years of paying little attention to calculus or sciences were making it very hard for her to make sense of them.

The most useful result was that she got some new ideas for her accessories. She started to make math formulas bracelets and earrings out of wire, or buckles picturing chemical elements and molecule structures.

"Math is indeed very helpful," she told Jun-Ki one day, happy to have sold a bracelet to one of her schoolmates.

"You have no intention of taking this seriously, do you?" was his serious answer.

"I have the intention, but all I can understand about integration and differentiation is that they have some aesthetic value. Otherwise... look at this one: '_the improper integral is the limit of proper integrals as one endpoint of the interval of integration approaches either a specific real number, or _∞_, or -__∞._' It makes no sense at all!"

"That's because you don't study."

"I do, but still I can't understand it. I think I'll leave math and study history. At least words in the history book are properly put together."

History did seem to go down better, but after days of studying, she found that her memory had retained only what she thought funny, strange or otherwise interesting.

"Henry VIII had five wives, of which he beheaded two, and apparently, it was a pretty close shave for a third one, but he died just in time. Still, I found some very passionate love letters that he wrote for his first beheaded queen. It's the kind of romantic writing that we hardly see anymore. It's scary to see how insignificant a guarantee for a good married life are the hot declarations that start it."

"I hope that's not the only thing that you recall from World history," said Mi-Young.

"Well... I also know that Napoleon was saved by a dog after he escaped from his exile. If it weren't for that dog, Waterloo wouldn't be such a famous touristic destination. Isn't life funny?"

* * *

Ah-Jong and Jan-Di had a game they liked. It was called people-watching, and it meant sitting in front of hotels, at the train station, or in tea-shops and cafés and trying to guess what people did for a living, how their lives were, what kind of personalities they had. It had been suggested by Ah-Jong's curiosity and love of stories, but for Jan-Di, it was an excuse to spend a pleasant time chatting with her best friend.

"Do you see that boy?" asked Ah-Jong one Sunday, as they were sitting at a Starbucks in Gangnam-gu. "The one with spiky hair and a blue shirt. He thinks he's a future pop star."

"You can't say that just because of the way he dresses," replied Jan-Di, studying him. "See the girl he's with? She probably chases after pop stars, so he looks like that to impress her."

"That girl is his sister."

"What makes you say that?!"

"I've met them last year at Siwonhan when I went there for the dance audition."

"Cheater..." said Jan-Di, smiling and poking her friend with a finger.

"He took the exam with me," replied Ah-Jong, returning the smile. "I think he must have made it. He looks like he's fully prepared to give autographs."

"When you'll work in the media, you might meet him again."

"Yes," said Ah-Jong, not looking convinced.

Jan-Di watched her and became more serious. "Did you talk to Teacher Yoon?"

"I did. He doesn't seem to think that I have a chance to major in media. Actually, he doesn't give me real chances to go to college this year. He said my English and my Korean grammar don't make up for the rest of my grades."

"Did he advise you on how to get them up?"

"He recommended some private schools where to get tutoring. But I don't know. Mom just hired a new drawing teacher, and dad had to pay the hospital bill for one of his stunt men. Their finances are not in great shape. I'm thinking about some Internet classes instead. They are cheaper."

"Well, that's... also good. And I could ask my homeroom teacher to recommend some."

"Thanks! I could use some hints. But how are things with you? Did Seungcheon life get better?"

"I'm getting used to it... This style of teaching, with discussions instead of just lectures, is not very comfortable for me. I feel that I learn more this way, but... let's just say it's more tiresome when you're not one of the popular students."

"Are they still giving you a hard time?"

"Mostly Han Cho-Hee and Ku Ji-Won, her best friend. They despise all those who can't afford a vacation in Venice or a Louis Vuitton bag. Yesterday, when I opened your e-mail with the collage from our basketball game, they saw it over my shoulder and started to make nasty comments. And then, they conversed aloud about their weekend at the Johwa Resort and the tennis matches with President Choi's family."

"I'm sure they couldn't have more fun than we did," said Ah-Jong.

"I'm sure they didn't. They're too focused on their own images to have real fun."

"But you have Go Ji-Hyun now, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," answered Jan-Di, smiling. "She's so nice! I'm really glad that we found each other. Since she came to the school, I finally feel like I belong there."

"We're all grateful to her. Considering how it started, we feared that you would spend the entire senior year all by yourself."

"You've discussed it extensively, didn't you," smiled Jan-Di.

"Of course. We even discussed strategies. Yong-Jun suggested that we get the boys to make declarations for you in front of the school to show how wanted you were."

"Oh, no!" laughed Jan-Di.

"One per day. He calculated that they could be six altogether. They were even going to make poems."

"Those would have been six days from hell!"

"I'm glad that Go Ji-Hyun came and rescued you from such a prospect," said Ah-Jong, chuckling. "I would really like to meet her."

"Oh, yes, you must meet! I might be able to convince her to come with us one Sunday. But until then, I can show you some pictures."

At Ah-Jong's enthusiastic agreement, Jan-Di browsed through a few pictures that she had taken with her phone in the schoolyard.

"She seems really nice," said Ah-Jong. "And she's beautiful! Does any of the boys like her?"

"I haven't seen one yet, but she doesn't care about that. She's very serious about studying. Anyway, if those guys had any taste, they **would** like her."

"If they had any taste, they would like you."

"Then I fear that the boys at Seungcheon are all tasteless," laughed Jan-Di. "They probably like daughters of rich families. Imagine that!"

"Insane!" agreed Ah-Jong. "They should know by now that Cinderella is the one who's worth having."

"Maybe they can't get their hands on a magic slipper, hence their confusion."

* * *

As weeks went by, Jan-Di understood what a force and what a menace the Four Musketeers were at Seungcheon.

Whenever they entered a room, she could feel the change of mood. Even with her back turned and her eyes closed, she was still able to tell when one of them was around.

It was Gu Jun-Pyo that Jan-Di found the most intimidating. He was clever, as they all were, and he had a confident, laid-back manner that she was envying him for. He was fun and she would have liked him if it weren't for his arrogant and sometimes mean treatment of those who were not at the same level of popularity and social status.

One day, she and her schoolmates were sitting in the classroom and waiting for the teacher, when a boy approached the four and told them something. She didn't hear the words, but she saw Ji-Hoo and Jun-Pyo, who were the closest to him, lean back with matching grimaces on their faces. Jun-Pyo waved a hand in front of his nose. After the boy left, embarrassed, they whispered among each other and chuckled.

"_'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet!'_" declaimed Ji-Hoo.

"A word by any other mouth would smell much sweeter," added Jun-Pyo.

"The two of you are in such a lyrical mood," commented a girl.

"There's nothing like a breath of poetry," replied Jun-Pyo.

The next day, that boy found on his locker a note with a haiku:

"_In your gentle words,_

_I swear I smell the sunshine._

_Toothpaste would be nice."_

The locker was full of small onions, which fell all over the hallway as soon as he opened the door. Laughing and jeering, the throng of students around him picked up the vegetables and started to throw them at him. Then, he was called to Principle Ahn's office, from which he came out pale and stuttering. For many days after that, he kept finding his desk full of either smelly things or dental care products brought in by various students. All in all, a real mess because he had a tooth cavity that had remained untreated and made his mouth smell unsavory to those brats' noses.

Others as well had to suffer the pranks of the Four Musketeers.

"What makes me mad is that I don't have the courage to tell them anything," Jan-Di told Ah-Jong while they were warming up for a jog one morning. "Nobody does. Actually, most students don't even want to because they think the jokes are funny. I have to admit, sometimes I couldn't help laughing at some of them, but the problem is that things turn out really badly for the victims. On top of having to suffer those brats' tricks, they are also in trouble with the rest of the students and sometimes with teachers and parents.

Last week, a girl spilled orange juice on So Iy-Jung's shirt by mistake. She was terrified when she apologized to him, and he was all charming and soothing, telling her not to worry about anything. He has a special way of doing that, and when he does, it's obvious you're in deep trouble. I wanted to pour all my juice on him to wipe those dimples off his face. What was the big deal, anyway? He has enough money to buy ten more shirts.

Now, the girl keeps getting her clothes dirty in the weirdest ways. She was eating when suddenly sauce blew out of her plate straight on her coat. All she did was try to cut a potato, but the thing just blew up, you know? Then, she sat on a chair that fell from under her because of a weak leg, and she pulled all the food on herself. At another time, in art class, paint came out of the other end of the tube, and her shirt sleeve looked like she had tried to cut her veins.

These things still go on. By now, it's not clear how many of them are inflicted by those four, how many by other students, and how many she inflicts on herself because she's too certain that something would happen. From what I hear, she also got in trouble with her parents for making a fool out of herself, and So Iy-Jung was the one who helped them find out. They went so far as to cancel her birthday party."

"That's the worst," commented Ah-Jong. "I would get revenge for something like that."

"The worst is that the girl likes So Iy-Jung. Even after what he has done to her!"

"Are there any girls that **they** like?"

"They like several and none. I don't know for sure, of course, since I couldn't be further away from their circle, but in the general gossip, they are always associated with one girl or another, though not often the same for two times in a row."

* * *

**Hi guys :). I hope you like this Jan-Di and her friend, Ah-Jong. They'll get some action soon.**

**See you next chapter :).**


	2. Chapter 2 The Characters Meet

**Just a small review of the characters so that it doesn't get too confusing :).**

**Jan-Di's schoolmates at Seungcheon:**

The girls: Han Cho-Hee (the beauty of the school, who traveled to Paris during spring break), Ku Ji-Won (Cho-Hee's best friend), Go Ji-Hyun (a new student, who becomes Jan-Di's friend)

The boys: Gu Jun-Pyo, So Iy-Jung, Kang Ji-Hoo, Lee Woo-Bin

**Jan-Di's parents:** Moon Se-Gyung and Geum Seung-Jo (they own a tea shop)

**Ah-Jong's schoolmates:**

The girls: Song Mi-Young (a reasonably smart one), Park Hyun-Jae (cute, likes to do her friends' hair and make-up), Jung Soo-Yun

The boys: Jang Yong-Jun (the fun one, likes Mi-Young), Nam Jun-Ki (the smart and serious one)

**Ah-Jong's parents:** Choi Sun-Hee (owns a small art school teaching piano, drawing and painting) and Oh Shi-Wan (owns a stunt company)

* * *

For the last Sunday of March, Ah-Jong's parents took her and Jan-Di on a mountain bike ride.

All through Saturday till almost morning, both girls had worked hard to finish Jan-Di's history project, so that she could spend most of the next day out. It was a model of the Battle of Amiens, which had begun the Hundred Days Offensive of the Allies in the First World War. Tens of painted clay pellets were displaying the deployment of the parties, and the girls added tanks and vehicles made from pieces of wood. On Monday, Jan-Di had to take the model to school, but because it was too heavy and bulky, Ah-Jong had offered to bring it in the evening, by car, with the help of one of her father's employees. Jan-Di had accepted because she knew that her friend was curious to see Seungcheon. This was a perfect opportunity to show it to her.

Early on Sunday morning, Ah-Jong and her parents drove to Jan-Di's house to pick her up. Oh Shi-Wan, Ah-Jong's father, took Jan-Di's bike and mounted it securely on the roof of the car, while his daughter was jumping up and down with excitement and hugging her friend.

"I'm glad you're coming with us, Jan-Di," said Choi Sun-Hee. "I hope this trip will give you energy for next week."

"I'm sure it will! And I'm very grateful," she said warmly, watching them all with a wide smile. "If not for you, I would bury myself in books and not even know that spring was here."

"Work always seems to go much better after you've had a bit of fun, doesn't it," said Sun-Hee. "Relaxation is a vital safety procedure and should be compulsory for all hard-working students."

"I'm all for this procedure," declared Ah-Jong.

"I have already noticed how cautious you are, sweetheart," replied Sun-Hee, smiling and putting her arm around her daughter's shoulders.

Jan-Di thought that her friend looked a little ashamed, probably thinking that she was not that hard-working, and that relaxation was the order of the day for her. In truth, Ah-Jong hadn't managed to take care of her school work as planned. The popularity of her trinkets was on the rise, but her grades were still at ground level.

"Ah-Jong has already improved her studying habits, which is great," she said encouragingly, not knowing how else to react.

"I know she did," said Sun-Hee. "You'll do good, Ah-Jong. I trust you."

Ah-Jong only smiled, and Jan-Di thought that she was even more ashamed by her mother's declaration.

When all was prepared, they said good bye to Jan-Di's parents, with assurances that their daughter would be brought back home safe and sound.

The one hour drive seemed to go fast, with Sun-Hee and Ah-Jong chirping merrily. Ah-Jong always seemed to have some news up her sleeve, or some subject on which to make funny, silly, half-serious comments. But Jan-Di also loved to talk to her friend's mother. Sun-Hee managed to be at ease with any person, from her daughter's teenage friends to her husband's action stunt men, to her own little pupils, their parents, or the diversity of people who wanted short escapes from their busy lives and were coming to her amateur classes.

She also liked many subjects that Jan-Di was fond of. For the daughter of a small shop owner, she had received a surprisingly good education. She had been to art school, but knew things not only about fine arts and music, which she also taught at Raw Imagination. She seemed equally comfortable with history, fashion, or business. To Jan-Di's awe, Sun-Hee could even understand politics.

And she liked to read, which was one of Jan-Di's passions as well. There weren't many people with whom she could talk about books like she could with Choi Sun-Hee.

On the other hand, Oh Shi-Wan was silent most of the way, except for when he was prompted by his daughter to share news or anecdotes from the media companies and film sets. Though he wasn't in the habit of talking a lot, Jan-Di enjoyed his company as well. She thought him a very perceptive person, with a talent for sensing people's feelings. Sometimes, nobody was better than him at helping her understand herself or others, except maybe his daughter, who had inherited this quality.

While Sun-Hee was always polite and diplomatic, Oh Shi-Wan could be quite blunt. If he didn't like somebody, he wasn't bothering to hide it; and if he felt that someone was wrong in some way, he would say it directly. But at the same time, he showed steady care for those who were close to him.

"One day, a few months after we'd met, he got quite upset with me," Sun-Hee had once said to Jan-Di and Ah-Jong. "He told me it was bad enough that I didn't have the will to do the things that were expected of me. But what's worse, he said, was that I neglected even the things I claimed to like. He scolded me for making others and myself unhappy because of my behavior. And immediately after this, he added that he loved me nonetheless, and that he would do anything to see a genuine smile on my face. That was how he made his declaration to me! I instantly started to cry, of course. It was so romantic!"

After they reached the forest, Oh Shi-Wan unloaded the bikes and they were on their way. Soon, the chill and the effort made Jan-Di forget everything that had been worrying her, all her stress and uncertainties. It felt as if she had escaped into a different life in which she felt that she could do anything and become anyone she wanted. As usual in these occasions, she decided to be calmer, less insecure around her schoolmates, focus only on those she loved, and care less about those rich kids who tried to make her feel inferior.

The hours went by quickly as they wound along the forest paths, inhaling the smells and pointing to each other little animals that kept showing up and then quickly disappearing amongst the trees.

Jan-Di felt like only minutes had passed until, tired and with flushed cheeks, but full of energy, they started on a descending path back to the car.

Shi-Wan let his bike go quickly downhill, making it jump over stones and tree roots, and Ah-Jong followed him.

"Be careful!" shouted Sun-Hee.

"Yes!" answered Ah-Jong.

But she had barely said it when her bike stopped short, and she flew over it, landing on a side and rolling over for a couple of meters. The bike did a somersault and almost hit Ah-Jong full in the face, but she had managed to raise her arms to protect herself. Still, her nose was bloody when she uncovered it.

"Ah-Jong!" shouted both Sun-Hee and Jan-Di.

Shi-Wan had stopped, hearing his daughter's cry, and was running uphill towards her. Ah-Jong lifted her head and groaned, her face full of blood.

"Don't get up," said Shi-Wan, calm but firm. "How do you feel?"

"I'm OK..." she muttered. "It just hurts..."

Carefully, her father checked her face and arms, which Ah-Jong said were hurting the most. Thankfully, nothing seemed seriously wrong with her. She had only grazed the skin on her forehead, her nose was bleeding profusely, and her left shoulder, both arms and her left hip were bruised.

"I'm perfectly fine," said Ah-Jong in a stronger voice, that made Jan-Di feel more at ease.

"Yes, you seem to be," replied her father, making her hold her nose tightly between her fingers, "but sit here for a while."

She did as she was told because, as it became apparent when she tried, she wasn't yet able to stand. For fifteen minutes, Jan-Di sat anxiously near her friend, helping her wipe the blood off her face while Ah-Jong kept repeating in a nasal voice that she was fine and only needed a little rest.

Finally, she managed to get up and get back on her bike, and they carefully made the rest of the way to their car.

* * *

The next morning, Ah-Jong took a dismayed look at herself in the mirror. Overnight, she had gotten two dark spots under her eyes because of yesterday's hit in the nose.

"Brilliant..." she muttered as she tried to hide them with concealer and managed it only partially.

She applied fresh patches on two of the worst grazes and prepared to go to school.

Her classmates greeted her with a mix of shocked questions and jokes, and she told them the story of the previous day's adventure.

"Ah-Jong, what happened to you again?!"

"I hope the other guy is in much worse condition!"

"You've got yourself a nose job!"

"I took off from my bike, flew like a bird, and crash landed like a badger. Then the bike attacked me. But yes, it looks much worse than I do."

"Ah-Jong, now I feel like in Beauty and the Beast with you."

"You do have princess material, Yong-Jun."

Today, she was going to take Jan-Di's history project to Seungcheon, and she couldn't wait for the evening. The day before, she had hoped to catch a glimpse of some of the students, but now, with her damaged face, she was glad that Jan-Di had proposed a time when the others were likely to be in the study room.

At five, classes ended, and she made an excuse to cut self study. She climbed on a new bike, which she had borrowed from Oh Shi-Wan's company, and half an hour later, she was at The Spring Dreams to pick up the Battle of Amiens model. She met her father's employee there, and he drove her to Seungcheon, where Jan-Di was waiting at the gate. After the bike was taken down from the roof of the car, the girls carried the model inside.

The first place they went to was the room where the other projects had already been placed. After that was taken care of, Jan-Di took her friend to see her classroom.

"Wow!" exclaimed Ah-Jong when she saw it. "In this place, even I would pay attention."

"You would, but not because of the classroom. Our teachers are fierce. But how would you like to see the music and the arts rooms now?"

"You don't even have to ask," grinned Ah-Jong.

They headed through the silent school and entered a large space with a grand piano on one side, a couple of cellos, violins, three classic guitars and two electronic ones, a mixer, a drum kit, and several other instruments.

Ah-Jong took a delighted look around and laughed joyfully.

"Mom would love this! A Steinway in flesh and bones," she said, approaching the piano and tenderly running her hand over it.

She sat down, opened the lid and played a few notes from the Harry Potter theme. Jan-Di chuckled.

"Perfect!" Ah-Jong stated. "I don't even need to know how to play. It does the job by itself."

"It doesn't do it for me," laughed Jan-Di.

Ah-Jong got up again and surveyed the room with curiosity and pleasure, trying to stick everything to her memory. She picked up a guitar, sat down on a chair, and caressed its neck.

"I like this guitar," she said, choosing a harmony and lazily striking the chords.

"Put it down!"

Ah-Jong felt her heart give a sudden jerk, and she looked up quickly to meet the cold stare of a boy who had just come in. Had they left the door open? She remained motionless, knowing that she was in trouble and so was Jan-Di.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"I'm sorry." She got up hurriedly and stopped, intimidated, watching as he was approaching her with brisk steps.

This must have been the most handsome guy she had ever met. She could well recall him from the pictures she had seen on the Internet. But in those, he was smiling brightly, and now, he was measuring her with contempt.

He yanked the guitar out of her hand. "Are you stupid?"

"Someone used Ji-Hoo's guitar," said one of the other three boys who had entered the room.

And he gave her a charming smile that, somehow, wasn't a promise of anything charming.

"Don't worry, though," he continued. "We're not going to bite."

Her stomach was aching with mixed emotions. She was not sure what looked more menacing, the cold gaze of the first or the sweet smile of the second boy.

"I... I'm sorry," she stuttered again.

"Who are you?" snapped Ji-Hoo, turning to her after having carefully put the guitar back into its place.

"She's someone who goes to a public school," said the boy with the charming smile, looking her over. "A commoner of the most common kind and as ugly as King Julien on a bad hair day. I can't be looking at girls like you. It's depressing."

"You are depressing Iy-Jung, ugly one," said Ji-Hoo. "He's used to only high class. That's another apology that you owe."

Ah-Jong was not much shorter than him, but somehow, he managed to tower over her. She felt her face burn, and strong sensations – shame? anger? both? – got into the mix. She could find nothing to say. Painfully aware of the patches and grazes on her face, the barely hidden bruises under her eyes, and her public school uniform, she couldn't help but notice the contrast she was making with these boys. She glanced at each of them – all four were even more good looking than in the pictures she had seen on the Internet a little more than a month ago. All were bright and educated, according to Jan-Di. She felt stupid, ugly and coarse.

"She's my friend," said Jan-Di, coming near her. "She came to help me bring my history project. And now we're..."

"So it's your fault that this person is here," replied a third boy, whom Ah-Jong recognized as Gu Jun-Pyo.

"No!" she exclaimed, panicked at the thought of Jan-Di becoming the boys' next victim. "I came... by myself..."

That was stupid...

"She's pretty dumb, isn't she," chuckled Jun-Pyo.

"Her natural stupidity must have been enhanced by her falling on her face," replied Ji-Hoo.

"Her natural ugliness as well," added Iy-Jung.

"Leave her alone!" shouted Jan-Di. "Let's go, Ah-Jong!"

With that, she started to pull Ah-Jong toward the exit, but Iy-Jung and Jun-Pyo blocked their way. The fourth boy, who had just stood and watched the show, closed the door and went to settle comfortably on a chair, with a face that seemed to expect entertainment.

Angry, Jan-Di tried to get past Jun-Pyo, but he stepped in her path every time, assisted by Iy-Jung.

"Let us go," she growled.

Ah-Jong was desperately trying to think of something. None of her usual reactions to hostility seemed suitable right now. Laughing and running away, smiling and trying to coax her opponent, brazenly lying or playing dumb were all out of the question somehow. Concern about Jan-Di was uppermost in her mind, and she was looking in vain for a reaction that would keep her friend out of trouble.

"Not before we've cleared this up," replied Jun-Pyo. "As you can see, Ji-Hoo's feelings were pretty hurt."

"I apologize," said Ah-Jong, finding her voice. "I know I shouldn't have taken that guit..."

While speaking, she turned towards Ji-Hoo, and what she saw cut her short. Her backpack was on a stool, where she had thrown it before heading for the piano. Now it was open, and her math test result was in the boy's hands.

His face suddenly broke into a smile and he chuckled.

"This one has the mental capacity of a jellyfish."

She almost ran to him and tried to snatch the paper from his hands, but he raised it above his head and held her back with his other arm.

"Has a truck run over your brain?" he asked, looking her straight in the eyes with a contemptuous smirk.

Ah-Jong froze in place, confused. Stupidly, the image of a truck's underside running over her flashed through her mind. Her face must have shown how she felt, because he raised his eyebrows in amused surprise and started to laugh.

"She's priceless!"

Ah-Jong cursed herself for being so dumb as to react like that.

Jun-Pyo and Iy-Jung came closer to also have a look at the test result, while Jan-Di hurried over with a furious face.

"Yah!" she shouted at Ji-Hoo. "Who do you think you are to talk down to everybody like that? And what are you doing searching through other people's things?"

"Jan-Di," said Ah-Jong, scared, "it's OK, I..."

"It's not OK!" interrupted her friend, continuing to face the boy. "Do you know anything about Ah-Jong to talk like that?"

"Of course we know," said Jun-Pyo with a wide grin. "She's King Julien in flesh, bones, though not brain. That's from the jellyfish. But it's OK. People who can clean the streets are also needed."

"You bastard!" Jan-Di raised her fist and flung it to the boy's face, but Ah-Jong's arm shot out and she caught her friend by the wrist. Without a word, she ran to the door, pulling a screaming Jan-Di after her. The last thing she heard from the music room was laughter.

"Jan-Di, forget it. Let's go!" she said in a low voice, making her way through the corridors without loosening the grip on her friend's arm. "You can't hit that guy in the face."

"I'll hit him in any place I can get to," Jan-Di continued to shout. "Somebody should have done it a long time ago. Who do those bastards think they are?"

Five minutes later, they were out of the school grounds and on their bikes. Jan-Di was pedaling furiously and Ah-Jong tried to keep up, feeling on the verge of tears from humiliation and concern, cursing her own stupidity.

"I'm afraid that I got you in trouble," she told her friend.

"Me?! No, you didn't. Those guys have no idea who they're dealing with."

"So these are the famous Four Musketeers."

"Yes. In fact four bastards who think they are superior to everyone else, so they have the right to behave like you saw them."

Ah-Jong didn't say anything. The things they had said about her were still ringing in her ear. She thought they were quite true. She felt so inferior! They were rich and good looking, were offered the best education, had excellent prospects. She was a mere public high school student; of the most common kind, like that boy had said. She was neither beautiful, nor smart. She went to a second rate school, where she was doing miserably at so many subjects. How was she going to end up? Her future was a question with no answer.

"Don't let what they said get to you, Ah-Jong. They're really good at playing with people's heads."

Ah-Jong forced a chuckle, embarrassed and guilty. "I asked for it."

"No, you didn't. What did you do? Touch Ji-Hoo's guitar? Is that a good reason to behave the way they did? They're the ones who weren't civilized persons, not you."

"I shouldn't have visited the school. I'm sorry. I'm afraid these boys won't leave you alone now."

"Please, stop feeling guilty," said Jan-Di, in a softer voice. "I invited you. Besides, I'm glad that I finally said something to them. I was angry with myself for just watching and doing nothing. I was too afraid to do something, but now I did it and come what may. I can take 'em. Right?"

What could Ah-Jong answer? She wished she had thought of something in that music room, but it made no sense to say it. She had no idea what she could have done, anyway. She wanted to find a solution to prevent anything from happening to Jan-Di, but she couldn't say that either. Just the wish was not going to help. And when you say that you wish you could help, but you don't, you are only asking for undeserved thanks. That's what Ah-Jong's father had told her, and she definitely deserved no thanks right now. She was the one who had brought this... whatever **this** was going to be... on her best friend.

It was only when they were close to The Spring Dreams that Ah-Jong realized her backpack was still in the music room, back at Seungcheon.


	3. Chapter 3 Let the Games Begin

"What's just happened?" managed Jun-Pyo between feats of laughter, whipping off tears.

With a wide grin stretched on his face, Ji-Hoo watched his friend sprawling on a chair, almost suffocated by his own amusement. On a stool nearby, Iy-Jung was in a similar state.

"You're toast, Jun-Pyo," said Woo-Bin, coming back from the door where he'd entertained himself with the sound of Geum Jan-Di's rage. "I heard her shouting that she'll hit you anywhere she can get to."

That seemed to restart Jun-Pyo, making him unable to speak for another minute.

"Well, she can't get high," laughed Ji-Hoo, his mind holding the image of that girl throwing a punch at Jun-Pyo, her nose barely reaching his shoulder. "Good thing she didn't aim low."

"Geum Jan-Di is **fearsome!"** his friend exclaimed as soon as he was able to breathe.

"Anyway," said Iy-Jung, "what was she thinking, bringing that cartoon character here?"

"Maybe that person wanted to see what could have been if she had been born with the power of articulated speech," answered Jun-Pyo.

"She's not exactly quick brained," said Woo-Bin, "but did you see how fast she moved? She saved you from the little tornado."

"But she didn't save the tornado herself," replied Jun-Pyo, mischievously. "Woo-Bin, what should we do about Geum Jan-Di? You're the one who should come up with the idea since you only sat there and enjoyed the show."

Woo-Bin smiled. "She's just brought in her history project."

Matching expressions answered him, and the four boys got up all at once.

"Let's check it out," said Jun-Pyo.

"We'll make history," added Iy-Jung.

"Into something else," finished Ji-Hoo.

"What was that girl's name again?" asked Woo-Bin, as they were heading out of the music room.

"I have no idea," answered Jun-Pyo.

"Ah-Jong," said Ji-Hoo, smiling and slinging her backpack on his shoulder.

He intended to go through it later to see if he could find anything interesting. Studying stupid people was usually proving to be fun.

After entering the room where the history projects were stored, they turned the light on and scanned around to find Jan-Di's. It took less than a minute for Iy-Jung to spot it.

"Here it is," he called, and his friends gathered around to study the large model, carefully labeled, 'The Battle of Amiens, Geum Jan-Di, Class 3-1'.

"The Battle of Amiens," said Woo-Bin. "Cool!"

"What a party ground!" grinned Ji-Hoo.

Jun-Pyo slung his arm around his shoulders, eying the model with satisfaction. "Ji-Hoo, my friend, that's exactly what it is."

* * *

On Tuesday, Jan-Di entered the school with some anxiety, looking around in search of the four brats. She was nervous at the thought of meeting them, but the fact that they were nowhere to be seen made it even worse. A plan was surely in motion, and the delay of its disclosure increased her suspense.

Approaching her locker, she felt her heart racing, but she tried to look cool. No note on the door. So far, so good. Still, she opened it carefully, remembering the student who had been flooded with onions. Nothing. There was no relief though. It made her fear that something worse was ahead.

Suddenly, she was startled by somebody appearing in front of her and leaning on the nearby locker.

"Hi, Jan-Di!" said Go Ji-Hyun, chuckling. "Why so jumpy?"

"Oh, hello, Ji-Hyun," she answered, trying to smile. "I'm sorry. I was... deep in thought."

"So early in the morning?" teased her friend.

"I was just thinking... Tonight I should be at our tea shop earlier because there is a birthday celebration going on..." she lied. "But I can't. It's not my early leave night."

When they entered the class, Jan-Di saw the four boys sitting at their desks, talking with two of the girls and having a good time. They didn't look at her at all before the math class started. She was ignored all through the next class as well. Everything seemed perfectly normal aside from the fact that all four of them were barely managing to hide copious yawns.

History was next, and all students went to into the room where they had left their projects.

When she noticed that each of them was looking at her when they were coming out, Jan-Di's nervousness increased a notch. Some were smirking, some were amused, Ji-Hyun seemed concerned... Jun-Pyo fixed his eyes on her for the first time with a satisfied smile, followed by the other three, who had the same expression on their faces.

That was it! The bastards had messed with her history project! She quickly entered the room and saw what she was already expecting. Her model, for which she had worked half the night together with Ah-Jong, had been carefully vandalized. The "soldiers" in each of the armies had been mixed together in what now looked like a big party, with pairs and groups "dancing" on what now looked like tables instead of army vehicles. Some smaller, yellow pellets had appeared around or stuck to the "soldiers" and beer had been poured on the model, so as to make things as clear as possible by adding the smell to the whole scene.

That was way below the belt! It was impossible to fix it before the class started. Still, she had to try something. She ran to the bathroom and brought water in a cup made from a sheet of paper. On the way, she stopped at her locker and took out the herbs that her mother had packed with her lunch.

When she entered the classroom, the teacher was already there. There was complete silence as Teacher Wong was frowning at her and at the obviously ruined project. Jan-Di bowed her head and stuttered and apology, explaining that she had tripped while carrying it.

"What kind of excuse is this?" growled the teacher. "This mess is your project? And why is it smelling of rosemary?"

"It's the Battle of Amiens," she said, struggling to look sure of herself. "I wanted to symbolize the French territory, so for the grass, I used some of the herbs of Provence."

"Miss Geum Jan-Di, I can't accept this project. You will come and see me after class. Now take it out of my sight and sit down."

She placed the model at the back of the classroom and went to her desk, where she sat with a heavy heart throughout the next fifty minutes. But she wasn't going to give in. She would do everything possible to convince Teacher Wong to give her another shot.

"Provence... Nice!" said Ji-Hoo to her in a low voice after the class was over, as students were heading for the cafeteria. "Of course, Amiens is in the **North** of France."

"There was a lot of herb trade across the country," Woo-Bin explained to him in a sensible voice, and then gave Jan-Di a smile.

"That wasn't too bad," added Jun-Pyo. "You might prove to be some fun. I'm looking forward to next time."

_Let's see what you can do, jerk!_ thought Jan-Di, but held her tongue.

As he passed, Iy-Jung only smiled.

Trembling, Jan-Di went into her history teacher's office to negotiate.

Teacher Wong was at his desk, writing. Jan-Di waited quietly for him to finish, running through her head versions of what she was going to say. After a few minutes, when her arms were already aching from the weight of the model, he got up and walked to her. He stooped to take in the smell. In spite of the herbs and her effort to wash it off, Jan-Di could sense the beer very well.

"What happened to your project?" asked the teacher.

She couldn't say that her classmates had ruined it. There was no way that she could get off the hook with that, especially since she had no proof. Besides, things would get worse for her if she accused others. It was a sure way to get in trouble with more students than those four guys.

"I tripped. It was ruined, and I tried to put it back together, but..."

"Why are the Germans and the Allies glued together like that?"

"They... they took a great number of prisoners... That was how the German army started to decline. The Allies took prisoners after the Battle and there were a lot of..."

"What are the yellow dots?"

"They... they are... I wanted to indicate the casualties." _With yellow... _she continued in her mind. _It's a Tarantino movie._

The teacher only stared at her with a piercing look, seeming to try to read her mind.

"Miss Geum Jan-Di," he said after a minute that seemed like forever, "I will give you one more chance to get the project right. I want you to bring it to school on Tuesday at the latest. This time, in perfect state."

Relieved and grateful, Jan-Di thanked him and promised a perfect project, bowing as well as she could with the heavy model in her hands. Hurrying out, she went straight to the garbage bins at the back of the school and stuffed it into one of them. With both her arms and her mind numb with the effort, she sat on the ground trying to calm herself down. The war with those guys had started, and this had only been the first battle... But right now, she wasn't going to think of it. Or anything else.

After ten minutes of vegetating, she felt suddenly very hungry. And there was another sensation as well. Euphoria? A little... She smiled. Her situation was a bit scary, but a bit exciting as well. _I'm becoming like Ah-Jong. _Ah-Jong... She would faint with laughter when hearing about the battlefield party.

When she entered the cafeteria, she immediately spotted the four boys. Jun-Pyo looked up and watched her with curiosity, and she gathered the courage to hold his gaze for a few seconds before she started to look for Ji-Hyun. Her friend was already eating at a table that was close to the Musketeers'. Too close for Jan-Di's taste, but she went there.

"Are you all right, Jan-Di?" asked Ji-Hyun in a low and concerned voice. "What happened?"

"Teacher Wong allowed me bring in another project. I have to make it by next Tuesday."

"Oh, good! I was so worried. But what happened to your project? Did the Musketeers ruin it?"

"Yes..."

"Why? What did you do?"

"Yesterday, my friend, Ah-Jong, came here to help me bring my model. I told you about Ah-Jong. We met these four brats, and there was... some kind of clash. They insulted her, and I tried to defend her. Now they are doing what they do best," she finished, shrugging.

"What will you do?" asked Ji-Hyun, watching her friend with wide eyes.

"I'll do my best as well."

Han Cho-Hee and Ku Ji-Won approached the table and stood near Jan-Di.

"Geum Jan-Di," said Cho-Hee, "I've heard that you brought an unsavory person to our school. I didn't expect that of you."

"What did you expect of me, Han Cho-Hee?"

"More respect for your schoolmates to begin with. Distressing us with such pollution is not going to gain you a place in our hearts," said the girl with irony, obviously thinking that nothing could actually do that for Jan-Di.

"And how would you recommend me to go about gaining a place in your heart, Han Cho-Hee?"

"Polish your manners," answered Ji-Won, "have your parents grow their tea shop into a national chain, stop being a waitress, and make some friends that are worth something."

"And," added Cho-Hee, "stop that person from showing herself to us again. That's what I would start with if I were you."

"Thank you for your kind advices," replied Jan-Di, coldly.

For some reason, she was feeling less intimidated than before by the two girls. The expectation of trouble left no more room for feelings of inferiority. And she was almost relieved by this change. Now, she was a combatant, and though the opponents were much stronger, she wasn't going to whimper and hide. After all, she had no other choice. She had to resist, otherwise what would happen to her parents' dreams for her and all the efforts they were making?

"I have one more advice, Geum Jan-Di," said Cho-Hee, leaning forward and giving her an angry stare. "Leave this school."

And with that, she turned her back and went to another table, followed by her friend.

Jan-Di saw the four boys watching her, with various expressions on their faces. Woo-Bin's and Iy-Jung's read ominous amusement, Ji-Hoo's face was impenetrable, Jun-Pyo's was menacing. She looked at Jun-Pyo, calmly. _I'm not going anywhere._

"Perhaps you should apologize," said Ji-Hyun in a low voice. "Gu Jun-Pyo looks pretty angry."

"I have nothing to apologize for."

"If you don't, you'll be in big trouble. You saw what happens if you offend them."

"They get offended so easily, it's difficult to avoid it."

"Perhaps you shouldn't have brought your friend here."

"I know that. I shouldn't have put her through a meeting with those persons."

Though the rest of the day went by without any other event, it was clear to Jan-Di that the whole school knew she was the new mark. Some of the students were carefully ignoring her, others were smiling knowingly and watching her as she was walking through the hallways.

She had thought about leaving school right after classes, making some excuse, but then she decided to stay in the study room as she usually did on Tuesdays. She wasn't going to show that she was afraid of them.

The room was mostly empty when the four boys entered it. When they noticed Jan-Di, they whispered among each other and came to sit at a table next to hers.

They opened various books and skimmed through them in silence.

"_'A force'_," Ji-Hoo started to read in a voice loud enough for Jan-Di to hear, "_'is any influence that causes an object to undergo a certain change, either concerning its movement, direction, or geometrical construction.'_"

The other three snorted. "Geometrical construction..." laughed Jun-Pyo.

"I find working with direction to be the most interesting," said Iy-Jung.

"I like spinning," replied Woo-Bin. "Does that fall under 'direction' or 'movement'?"

"In any case, the object can undergo spinning too," said Ji-Hoo.

"Of course," confirmed Jun-Pyo. "We can go for topspin, backspin or sidespin."

"I like a good kick serve."

"The ball has been served and returned."

"Barely so."

"Now it's time for a good slice."

"This talk about slicing reminds me of the geometrical construction."

"That depends on where the ball hits."

Jan-Di was all ears, and her heart was beating faster both with anxiety and anger. It was impossible to miss the meaning of their riddles. _Give it your best shot! Punks!_

Ji-Hyun entered the room, and after a short hesitation on seeing the four boys so close, she came and sat near Jan-Di.

"Hi," she said with a whisper.

"Hi, Ji-Hyun," answered Jan-Di, smiling at her friend as if nothing special was going on.

"Are you looking for a new history project?" asked Ji-Hyun, glancing at the book that Jan-Di had opened in front of her.

"No, I'm actually reviewing biology," answered the girl casually, loud enough to be heard by the boys.

"Oh!..." interjected Ji-Hyun, taken aback and looking at Jan-Di's book again. "But that's..."

"I'm studying the social habits of multi-male baboon groups."

Ji-Hyun froze, unsure, half-understanding what Jan-Di was talking about.

"Feisty!" muttered Woo-Bin, sounding amused.

"How about just a flat smash?" asked Jun-Pyo.

"I would stick to slice," replied Ji-Hoo. "I suspect we'll get a spectacular spin."

"And who knows what direction it takes?" added Woo-Bin. "It might go straight into the stands."

"Oh, yes, that could happen," took over Jun-Pyo. "The spectators must be careful."

Was this a threat aimed at Ji-Hyun? Jan-Di slammed her history book shut, got up and started to gather her things.

"Geum Jan-Di!" called Jun-Pyo with a cold voice. "Aren't you going to apologize?"

"You're the ones who should apologize," she hissed, continuing to shove books into her bag.

"You should learn some manners," replied Jun-Pyo. "But don't worry. We'll teach you."

"Your idea of manners seems to include treating people as if they were your personal zoo."

Ji-Hoo laughed softly. "Prepare yourself little mouse. This zoo is more like a jungle."

"It's going to be a long year," added Woo-Bin.

"Unless you decide to go back to your public school," said Jun-Pyo.

"Look at the bright side," said Iy-Jung. "If you go back, you'll be together with your lemur friend for as long as you like."

"I won't decide to go back," said the girl, facing them. "Although I do prefer Ah-Jong's company to yours."

"Oh, I can understand why," said Jun-Pyo fixing her with a contemptuous look.

"_'I came here all by meself!'_" mocked Iy-Jung with a goofy high-pitched half-whisper. "_'I got brains, me.'_"

"You didn't tell her anything intelligent either, so it's even," replied Jan-Di, then turned her back at them and left the study room.

* * *

In the school study room, Ah-Jong could barely focus on her textbook. After yesterday's encounter with the four handsome bad news, she had spent most of the day wondering if Jan-Di was well.

The minute she had woken up, the boys' faces had popped into her head, watching her with disgusted expressions. Trying to get rid of this thought, she had jumped out of bed and started to prepare with great energy. On the way to the shower, she had avoided to look at herself in the mirror, but while brushing her teeth, the sight of her face had made her groan and recall So Iy-Jung's words; _'I can't be looking at girls like you. It's depressing'_.

She had spent a long time studying the dark spots under her eyes and trying to hide them. All this time, the film of last evening's encounter was playing in her head, and again and again, waves of humiliation were washing over her.

"Oh, I'm so ugly! And stupid! I'm a gray little mouse. I'm a jellyfish. And they are the bloody kings of the jungle!"

She was angry for allowing them to affect her so much. Most of her life, she had been content with herself. Without being a beauty, she thought she was reasonably pretty, and sports had given her a good figure, even if not skinny like that of a catwalk model. Though she lacked a lot of knowledge, she wasn't completely ignorant, and people usually enjoyed her company. In school, her performance was under average in most subjects, but she had been almost always unconcerned about it. Only lately, her lack of perspectives made her uncertain, but she had never felt really inferior until the night before. The encounter with the Four Musketeers had pierced through her self-confidence, and now she strongly felt her own failures.

At school, her friends had been eager to hear about the visit at Seungcheon. After she had finished telling them, the girls had been as disappointed as she was.

"Oh, I wish I had done your make-up a bit," Hyun-Jae had said.

"I wish I had never gone there!"

"You would have died of curiosity," Jun-Ki had replied.

"I would have stayed alive and well."

"I'm shocked!" Jun-Ki laughed. "Oh Ah-Jong is sorry about satisfying her curiosity. I think you're starting to grow up."

"But are they as handsome as in the pictures?" asked Mi-Young.

"They are great to look at and incredibly unpleasant to meet in person. I would have much rather remained in love with their pictures. Now they spoiled it for me."

"Well, then at least you accomplished something," Jun-Ki had said, smirking.

"If you say so, Jun-Ki, then I'll be content with this dubious achievement," replied the girl in the same tone. "But now I worry about Jan-Di. These guys are more like four dingoes than four musketeers, and she's right there, on their hunting ground. Look," she had added, taking a paper out of a new notebook, "I drew this last night. This is how they really are, so forget the nice pictures."

Her classmates' heads gathered closer to study a drawing of four canine figures with human expressions. Ah-Jong had made each to resemble one of the boys. They were gathered around a hare who was facing them with its ears up. In a corner, a mouse was running away from the scene.

"This is really good, Ah-Jong!"

"Suffering brings out the artist within!"

"Who is this mouse? Did Jan-Di run away?!"

"No, I did... I didn't **literally** run away without her, but she was the one who faced them. All I did was mumble stupid nonsense, which is as if I left her. And they found my math test result!" she had added, burying her face in her hands.

"That's bad..."

"What did they say?"

"Oh, they talked about jellyfishes and trucks that run over brains," she had whined, "and they called me King Julien on a bad hair day."

Her friends had burst into laughter.

"Ok, that was actually good," she had said, with a faint smile. "Or would have been if I weren't so cornered and if they weren't so..." she would have said _'handsome'_, but she changed her mind. "So intimidating," she continued. "On top of it all, I left my backpack there."

"How did it end up?"

"I had to take Jan-Di away. When she tried to hit one of them, I grabbed her and took off."

"She tried to hit them?!"

"She's doomed."

"You're not helping, Yong-Jun."

"What do you think they'll do to her?" Hyun-Jae had asked.

"I don't know, but she told me that playing jokes on people is their main hobby. I got her in deep trouble."

* * *

Now, while she was making no sense of thermodynamics, Ah-Jong couldn't wait for the right time to go to The Spring Dreams.

Finally, she gathered her things and left school together with Hyun-Jae. They got on their bikes, and half an hour later were settled at a corner table, where Moon Se-Gyung had brought them teas and cookies.

It was late, and the place was almost empty. Normally, Jan-Di would have started to study, but as she confessed, she was in absolutely no mood for it. However, it seemed to be out of excitement, not bitterness, and Ah-Jong looked at her rather dubiously.

"They were quick to start," said Jan-Di in an unconcerned manner that her best friend wasn't going to trust so easily. "They made my Battle of Amiens become the Party of the Millennium. I'm sorry I didn't save it," she chuckled. "You would have liked to see it. But I threw it away."

"Jan-Di, you seem very calm about this!" exclaimed Ah-Jong. "Wasn't it an important project?"

"Yes it was. I wasn't calm in the beginning, but the teacher gave me another chance."

She went on to tell them of how she had used herbs to cover the beer stench and how she had explained away all the other arrangements of the feast.

"I tried to put in as many historical details as I could, to show Teacher Wong that I had studied. I'm not sure if it worked or not, but the important thing is that I got to bring in another project."

"What if they ruin the second one?" asked Hyun-Jae.

"I'll have to think of a way to make it musketeer-proof."

"Hmm..." interjected Ah-Jong, looking at her friend with narrowed eyes and trying to read her mind.

"Are you suspecting me of something, Ah-Jong?" asked Jan-Di.

"You look excited, but also a little scared."

"Well, that's how adventure feels like, doesn't it! You should know it."

Ah-Jong laughed and admitted that she did. "And this seems to be the kind of adventure in which you are the best at finding solutions."

"Hopefully. And like all adventures, it has two rules: don't back down, and don't tell the parents. Got it?"

"We won't tell," said Hyun-Jae. "Besides, maybe your musketeers will stop now."

"Probably not. This evening they threatened with more, and I'm afraid that my response wasn't entirely humble."

* * *

**She got away this time. But what did the guys think about her? **

**Stay tuned :)**


	4. Chapter 4 Good Luck, Have Fun

**A/N I liked Ji-Hoo (cause he's very handsome, of course), so I put a lot of him in this story. But I changed him a little. Actually, I've changed him quite a bit, and that's why I also changed his last name. He's still handsome, though :). And smart.**

* * *

When he got home, Ji-Hoo was greeted by their housekeeper. He was not surprised that neither of his parents had returned from work. He knew his father was in the middle of a new bid for an important potential client and had spent the past few days almost entirely at the office. Ji-Hoo's mother, too, had a couple of difficult projects, one if them being the design of movie superstar Song Tae-Joon's house. The actor had given her leave to use all her creativity and was ready to finance it abundantly, so she was really passionate about this piece of work.

After having a quick dinner, he went to his room, slumped on his bed and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted. Almost the entire previous night had been spent messing with Geum Jan-Di's history project, and he had only caught a couple of hours of sleep. He grinned at the recollection. They had done a great job. Too bad that the girl had ruined it by trying to fix it.

Though they hadn't counted on her getting away with the ruined Battle, he wasn't sorry for it. It seemed that they finally had an opponent instead of a victim, and that was refreshing. Jan-Di sure had a lot of nerve, and he liked her quick thinking. She hadn't panicked, somehow managing to avoid their blow. _Herbs of Provance..._ He gave a silent chuckle. She couldn't have covered the beer stench, could she? But the rumor was that Teacher Wong had given her another shot.

And this evening in the study room, she had shown full intentions of standing her ground. All in all, he had high hopes from their next encounters.

He laughed out loud when he recalled her face from yesterday, when she had almost punched Jun-Pyo in the face. No girl had ever tried something like that! Her full force had been behind it, too. If her retarded friend hadn't stopped her, Jun-Pyo would have had quite a bruise to show.

He opened his eyes and stretched his hand to take the backpack that he had let fall near the bed. Its black cloth was dirty and scratched in places, as if its owner used to carelessly throw it in random places. Having pulled the zipper, he emptied the contents beside him and started to study them. Aside from a few books and notebooks, there was the paper with the math test result, a necklace, a wallet, a pencil box, paper handkerchiefs, a water bottle, a couple of hairpins, and a pack of medical plasters.

He picked up the necklace by its leather string and glanced at the pendant made of two pieces of painted wood. Cheap stuff, of course. He threw it back on the bed and took a notebook which she was apparently using for math. It was labeled _'Log(x): that is the question'_. Opening it randomly, he looked at the page.

_2 * cosx * cos((n-1)x) - cos((n-2)x) = searing pain_

"Of course it is," he muttered, smirking.

Her notes were chaotic, and on almost every page, she had made cartoons out of math signs and charts. No wonder her grade was so low.

Throwing the notebook aside, he took another, which seemed to be for literature. The page where he opened it contained a short dialogue.

_'What's with Yong-Jun?'_

_'Studying must have caused his brain to combust.'_

Judging by the handwriting, the first seemed to be hers, and judging from the answer, the second must have belonged to somebody just as stupid.

He slammed the notebook shut. For some reason, he started to find her particularly irritating. He recalled the first moment he had seen her. With his guitar in her lap, she had run her hand over it with a slow, graceful movement that had fascinated him. For a second, he had been rooted in place, watching her long fingers embrace the neck of the instrument and gently press on the chords.

Then, he had seen the rest of her. He hated that such a touch on his guitar had come from such a person.

His phone rang, thankfully interrupting him. What was he doing, anyway? This girl's stupidity wasn't even fun. She was just a future saleswoman or something.

"Hello, Oppa," said Bong Hae-Min's cheerful voice. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, you didn't."

"Oppa, I have an invitation for you. Guess what it is."

"Siwonhan holds a showcase and you'll be in it," he immediately answered.

"How did you know?!"

"I can't imagine any other kind of invitation that would make you so happy."

"Well, you're very smart, as always. Yes, it's an invitation to a showcase next month. And I'm doing the opening solo! There was fierce competition for it."

"Good for you. You worked hard."

"You'll come, right? I think I can manage invitations for all four of you, as long as you promise not to pull any joke."

"When did we pull jokes on you, Hae-Min?"

"Only for my entire life," laughed the girl.

"Those were bonding activities," answered Ji-Hoo with a smile.

"Then you'll have to promise there won't be any bonding activity there."

"I see. Now, that you're a star, you want to pretend you don't know us."

"Oppa, stop teasing me and say you'll come to the show."

"I will."

"Good. I'm so happy! Will you bring me flowers?"

"Of course. We'll send about a dozen baskets with anonymous love notes in them."

"Oppa!"

"What? Do you want them signed?"

Though he enjoyed himself teasing her for a while, he was actually proud of her. Ever since she was a little girl, Hae-Min's dream had been to become an entertainer, and she had worked hard to get into Siwonhan Arts high school. He had every intention of going to the show and helping her have a great day.

When they got to the subject of the Musketeers latest tricks, Ji-Hoo told her about Jan-Di.

"We found someone interesting this time. She stands up to us pretty nicely."

"I'm glad to hear that. I like her already. But what has she done to attract your attention?"

"She smuggled an offensive friend of hers into our school."

"How was she offensive."

"By being both ugly and stupid."

Hae-Min laughed. "Poor thing! She had no idea what she was doing. She probably wanted her friend to see some handsome boys."

"If that's the case, I think we cured her friend of that kind of curiosity."

While talking, he picked up the backpack and shoved everything in it, then he threw it across the room, straight into the paper bin near his desk. _Very fitting_.

"I can only imagine how it must have been. I pity the poor girls."

"Don't. One is not worth your pity, and the other... I have the feeling she's above it."

* * *

During the following days, Jan-Di seemed to like her adventure somewhat less. Once, she confessed to Ah-Jong that she had eaten nothing for lunch because her food had been carefully painted with acrylics. However, she had declared it quite artistic and had taken pictures of it to bring them back to her friend. And especially to annoy the four boys. Ji-Hyun had offered to share food with her, but she had refused for fear of getting her friend in trouble as well. The next day, she started to bring some rice cookies in a separate bag, for backup.

Another day, her notebooks got vandalized, then she missed various things, then she came back home with her clothes ruined by food or with holes cut into them. Jan-Di was assuming that other students at Seungcheon were contributing to her punishment as it usually happened when someone was in disgrace for having offended the Musketeers.

"Some of the jokes are too brainless to be theirs," she told Ah-Jong. "If anything, they are creative."

Over the weekend, the two girls met to find a way to make the new history project less vulnerable. Eager to help, though it didn't do much to ease her conscience, Ah-Jong gave up any other activity to spend most of Saturday and Sunday with Jan-Di, until they were finally confident that her friend's work was as safe as it could be.

On Tuesday morning at six, Ah-Jong went out for her usual run. Once in the park, she had barely started to warm up when she saw somebody jogging down the path in her direction. To her dismay, she recognized him; the fourth of the four not-so-French heroes, the one who had kept himself aside and enjoyed the show in the music room.

She turned her back to him, hoping that he wouldn't recognize her, and she bent down in a lunge, putting her head on her knee.

"Oh Ah-Jong, right?"

Well... Having no other choice, she got up and answered his bow.

"Yes. Lee Woo-Bin, right?"

He was smiling just like he had at their first encounter.

"Yes, you're right. I see you memorized our names."

"That was the least I could do," she answered, trying to return his smile. "I didn't know you jogged here," she added, not mentioning that she would have avoided the place if she had that information.

"I don't, usually, but last night I slept at a friend's, and this was the closest park."

"Well... Have a good training, then. I'll have mine now," she said and started to run in the direction where he had been coming from.

After a few steps he caught up with her.

"So, which college do you expect to go to with those grades?" he asked genially, taking her aback.

"None," she eventually answered, in a casual tone. "How about you? Are you in poll position for the college of your dreams?"

"At least for the college of my parents' dreams."

Even with his straightforward style, this boy didn't seem as mean as the others, and Jan-Di had already said that he was the friendliest of the four. And he had stayed out of the disaster in the Seungcheon music room, though probably not also out of the jokes that had been played on Jan-Di. But he was here all by himself. Ah-Jong calculated that she could try to be likable and get him at least a little bit on her friend's side.

"What would you rather do?" she asked.

"Travel the world, drink, and party."

Ah-Jong chuckled. "That sounds quite inspirational," she replied, causing him to turn his head and take a long look at her.

"And what is **your** dream?"

"I don't have one. I'm wide awake," she said with a rather embarrassed smile.

"That's ok. Not everybody has to go to college. There are too many already. People are also needed for actual work."

"Or to travel the world, drink, and party."

"Don't steal my idea."

"You're not going to use it, anyway. Besides, there's no competition in that occupational area; only partnership."

"Excellent point! So do you think you're qualified? It's not as easy as it seems."

"I've been to some parties in my life."

"Pajama parties don't count."

Ah-Jong smiled. "I have some real party training."

"Define real party."

"It's... when you dress up and dance a lot with many people."

"Did you also drink alcohol?"

"I had a glass of beer at my last birthday party."

It was Woo-Bin's turn to chuckle. "A whole glass? Impressive! Oh Ah-Jong, I'm afraid you're in need for some serious instruction."

"Then what do **you** call a real party?"

"The kind that you wouldn't want your parents to know details about. Have you ever had that?"

"If I had, I wouldn't tell you."

"Why not?" asked the boy, with exaggerated innocence in his voice.

"Because you're the enemy," answered Ah-Jong, cheerfully.

"What have I ever done to you?"

"You've done things to Jan-Di, and that's worse."

"We are not enemies of Geum Jan-Di. Just think about us as partners having a game together."

"But why are you playing the game with her and not with me? I'm the one who somehow offended you."

"Geum Jan-Di tried to cause imperfections to Jun-Pyo's perfect face," shrugged the boy, smiling amusedly. "Can you imagine how much his feelings were hurt by that attempt?"

"Huh!"

"Oh Ah-Jong, please don't try to plead with me. Let's just have a nice jog together, shall we?"

"Hmm..." hummed the girl, throwing him a side glance.

_Let's be partners for a game, shall we?_ she thought.

"It would be a nice jog if you weren't so slow," she said aloud.

"What?! I'm slowing down for you. My usual training is much more intense."

"Really?" she asked, starting to run faster. "Then if you want intense training, follow me. If you can."

"Is that a serious challenge?" he replied, moving ahead of her.

She increased her speed, and instead of taking the turn that the path was making, she stepped on the grass.

"This way!" she shouted.

"We're not supposed to be on the grass," he answered, hesitating.

"So you're giving up?" she provoked him, turning to run backwards, until she saw that he was following.

Grinning, she headed straight for a low green fence and leaped over it, then turned her head to make sure he was still there. Sprinting over the grass and jumping past flower beds, she lead him to increasingly difficult obstacles, testing him. At last, the voice she was waiting for came from behind them, shouting.

"Yah! You punks! Stop! You're not allowed on the grass!"

Ah-Jong turned to see a guard running after them. He was young and quite fast, so she increased her speed.

"Run faster, Lee Woo-Bin!"

She chuckled when she heard him swearing under his breath and kept leading him over more fences, with the guard permanently on their tails. Reaching a flight of stairs, she climbed on the railing and let herself slide down. It was long, and the speed she had gained by the end of them made her take several steps forward to balance herself. She heard Woo-Bin screaming behind her, and turned to see him speeding down, his legs raised in front of him and his alarmed face funnily visible in between them.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he took large steps ahead and she made way for him, watching him amused. Eventually, he fell, but he rolled on his side and managed to get up. _Not bad._

"Yah! Stop right there!"

"Let's go," she said, starting to sprint again as the guard was running down the stairs, shouting and swearing.

They ran on at top speed and over more obstacles, until they reached the fence that was bordering one side of the park. Though it was pretty tall, she was immediately on top of it, and she turned to see how Woo-Bin would fare. To her surprise, he managed to get near her.

"How am I doing, Oh Ah-Jong?" he grinned.

"Not bad," she replied, grinning back, and jumped off, rolling over the pavement.

"Damn!" said Woo-Bin under his breath, evaluating the hight that was even greater on the other side.

"Just roll over on your softer parts," she instructed him.

"Yah! Stop, you punk! Get down from there!"

"Touch down briefly with the balls of your feet, keep your arms close to your body, protect your head..."

"I know how to fall!" he shouted and jumped.

"Ok?" she asked, watching him with a surprised and appreciative smile.

"You're crazy, Oh Ah-Jong," he muttered, breathing heavily.

"Let's go!"

Once they were at a safe distance from the park wall, Woo-Bin stopped and bent down to rest his hands on his knees, exhausted.

"Was this intense enough for you?" asked Ah-Jong.

He turned his head to look at her and gave a faint smile.

"Your training technique is quite original."

"You managed well."

"Yes, I did. You were hoping the guard would catch me, weren't you?"

"Not at all," she replied, raising an eyebrow and smiling mischievously. "I took you on the best path to get out of the park without being caught."

"Right..." he breathed, standing up and grinning. "Oh Ah-Jong, is this your method for getting Geum Jan-Di off the hook?"

She hesitated. "Did it work?" she asked with an innocent smile.

Woo-Bin started to laugh.

"You enjoyed our little jog," continued Ah-Jong. "Admit it."

"Yes, I did. And I'll return the favor some day. Until then, like I said, Geum Jan-Di and us have a game to play."

She watched him seriously. "What can I do to get her off the hook?"

"Nothing. Messing with her turned out to be too much fun. Can I give you a ride home?" he asked, with a friendly smile.

"No, thank you," she answered, giving up. "I live nearby."

"See you soon, Oh Ah-Jong."

Turning his back, he went away with her staring after him. At first, she considered following him and pleading for Jan-Di, but then she decided to leave it at this for the moment. He wasn't going to change his mind so easily. However... she could see on his face that he had liked the little adventure. After this, she thought there was reasonable hope to find a breach into the wall of four.

* * *

The feeling of alarm that was setting off whenever she entered the school had already become familiar to Jan-Di. She tightened her grip on the strap of her backpack, feeling slightly better at the knowledge that her project was tucked inside the Japanese puzzle box.

There were a lot of students in the hallway when she reached her locker. Maybe it was her paranoid imagination, but where they looking at her? Where they expecting something? Her heart was beating fast again as she entered her code and cracked the door carefully.

She almost screamed when she heard the screech of a live creature, clearly coming from inside. People around her started to chuckle and vociferate, and came closer. Gathering her courage, Jan-Di opened the door a little more and saw the source of the sound. A small monkey was standing on her books, holding something that looked like food and watching her with large eyes.

"What is going on?"

Startled by Principle Ahn's voice, Jan-Di slammed the door, and the little animal gave out a loud screech. The man passed through the students, who had become silent, and stood in front of Jan-Di.

"What is going on, student? Do you have an animal in your locker?"

Jan-Di only managed to stutter something unintelligible.

"Open it!" ordered the Principle.

She made an effort to gather her wits. This was surely the job of those bloody so-called Musketeers! A monkey in her locker! Now she would open the door, and the frightened animal would jump on Principle Ahn, and that would be it for her. Out of private school before even the first term was over.

"Yes, sir!" she said. "In a minute," and she quickly put her lunch bag down and opened it.

"What is your name?" snapped the teacher.

"Geum Jan-Di, sir. I will open the locker right now, Principle Ahn," she added while picking a few grapes from her lunch box.

Standing up, she punched her code again, took a deep breath, and opened the door carefully, pushing a grape inside. The monkey started to jump around, making hysterical noises and trying to escape, but Jan-Di held her position and tried to calm it down, all the time offering the grape. The creature quickly took it and retreated in a corner to eat. Jan-Di offered it another, and then another, until she was allowed to touch the fine fir of its tiny shoulder.

At last, she firmly held the leash of the monkey with one hand and gently took the animal in the other. Smiling at this small victory, she turned to Principle Ahn, but her lips immediately turned back down when she faced his frown.

"Follow me, Miss Geum Jan-Di," he said in a low, threatening voice, then he turned around and started to walk briskly to his office.

Jan-Di went after him, stealing glances at the other students, who all seemed to have excellent fun. Her four adversaries were right in front, of course, and looked very satisfied with themselves.

"Geum Jan-Di, the Monkey Whisperer," said Jun-Pyo, and everyone burst out laughing.

Jan-Di tightened her lips and walked on, focusing on what she could do to get out of this mess. Saying that she didn't know anything about the monkey was out of the question. The teachers would not be ready to believe someone as unimportant as her instead of the rich kids whose parents were paying big money and sometimes donating even more important sums or equipment.

"Miss Geum Jan-Di," said the Principle curtly when they had reached his office, "you are not allowed to bring pets at school. This will have serious consequences on you. Right now, I'm considering expelling you."

"I apologize, sir. This is my history project," she said quickly and held her breath.

Principle Ahn couldn't speak for a moment and just watched her with his eyes widened by amazement and fury.

"I always observe the school rules, sir. I only brought this monkey as my history project. We were asked to pick out important moments of the..."

"What are you talking about?! Do you want to make fun of me?! This school offered you a scholarship, and you should be grateful and work your hardest to deserve it!"

She remained quiet and lowered her head, anxiously waiting for him to continue. His voice was still echoing in the silence that lasted unbearably long.

"Very well," he finally growled. "If you insist, let's see what Teacher Wong has to say about this."

He stormed out and asked his secretary to call in the history teacher. While waiting, Jan-Di was thinking hard, putting her ideas together. She had remembered a discussion with Ah-Jong about history, when she had actually learned something from her friend, who seemed to be full of completely useless information. Hopefully not so useless now!

Teacher Wong came in and watched her with the same piercing look from the previous week, while Principle Ahn was explaining her claim that she had brought in a monkey as her project. When she was finally allowed to talk, she tried to be as calm as possible and give a coherent explanation.

"The significant World War I moment that I've chosen is actually from the aftermath of the war, when Turkey fought Greece for its territory. At first, the Allies supported Greece but then withdrew their support, and so, the Turks managed to win their independence. It all happened after King Alexander was bitten by a monkey and died leaving no heirs. King Constantine was brought back by the new government. Because of that, the Allies cut off their financial and military aid and left Greece to fight by itself. It was an important development that eventually lead to Turkey winning the war, and my point for this project was about how hazard can significantly influence history. I've chosen the monkey to symbolize the event that turned the fate of the two countries."

For a minute both teachers remained silent. Then Jan-Di thought she saw a thin smile on Teacher Wong's face.

"Principle Ahn," he said, "with your permission, I will accept this project. Miss Geum Jan-Di came with an interesting view. She'll present it in front of the class."

Jan-Di left the Principle's office, petting the monkey with a trembling hand. Both alarm and excitement were making her shiver; she wasn't really out of the woods yet, but so far she had done a good job! The faces of those four bastards would be worth seeing.

At Principle Ahn's instruction, she took the monkey to the school infirmary to be held there until it was time to present it as her "project". Then she went to the classroom right when science class was about to start. She sat at her desk, putting on a calm face, and was spared from the other students' questions by the entrance of the teacher. Out of the corner of an eye, she saw the four jokers watching her with curiosity, but she strove to ignore them. Two desks from her, Go Ji-Hyun had a concerned look on her face. Jan-Di returned a reassuring smile. _I'll be all right, Ji-Hyun. I'll be all right._

* * *

"Where is she going?" asked Jun-Pyo after science class, watching Jan-Di as she was hurrying out.

"And why so calm?" added Iy-Jung.

"What did she say to Principle Ahn?" continued Woo-Bin.

"And where is the monkey?" contributed Ji-Hoo.

"Do you think that she managed to come up with something again?" asked Jun-Pyo.

"What could she come up with?" answered Iy-Jung with yet another question. "We are not allowed to bring pets at school. That's the rule and Principle Ahn loves rules. I was expecting at least public chastisement."

"Maybe she told him the truth and he believed her," speculated Jun-Pyo.

"No," grinned Ji-Hoo. "She's too smart to say that. She must know that Principle Ahn wouldn't take her side."

He felt perplexed and curios, but he realized that it would not be a disappointment to see Jan-Di coming up with an idea.

"Then what?" asked Jun-Pyo again, completely puzzled.

"I don't know," answered Ji-Hoo, "but I bet it's going to be fun."

Cho-Hee came closer and leaned an a desk, crossing her long legs and looking at Ji-Hoo with a pretty smile.

"What's going to be fun, Ji-Hoo? If you're talking about Jan-Di," she added, leaning forward and lowering her voice, "I'll back you up on your bet. You guys are brilliant. What was she thinking? She didn't stand a chance!"

"What are you talking about, Cho-Hee?" said Iy-Jung innocently. "We have nothing to do with Jan-Di bringing her monkey at school."

"Either of the monkeys," added Ji-Hoo and the boys laughed.

After a few seconds Cho-Hee laughed too. "Oh, the friend she brought here. I saw her waiting for Jan-Di outside the school. But I'm sorry to say, Ji-Hoo, I disagree with your comparison. That girl is much uglier and stupider than a monkey."

Then she laughed again. Ji-Hoo didn't think her little joke to be exactly original, but he smiled charmingly.

It wasn't until the end of the break that they saw Jan-Di coming into the classroom again. And on her shoulder sat the little animal, eating a grape.

Students gasped at the sight and started to talk and assail her with queries. Ji-Hoo saw Jun-Pyo turning to give him a questioning look, and he answered with an amused shrug. _This is going to be good._ If she managed to get out of their trap, he was determined to become her friend. He was really curious to find out more about this Geum Jan-Di.

Teacher Wong entered the class before anyone had been able to find out why Jan-Di was there with the monkey. When all were silent, the teacher greeted them and told them that, before he started his lecture, they would hear the presentation of another history project.

"Miss Geum Jan-Di, as you know, tripped... and ruined her project. I decided to give her a chance to come up with another one. Today, she will tell us about it."

"History," started Jan-Di, "was influenced by powerful or clever people, but sometimes, it took unexpected turns because of small coincidences or random events. These events had important consequences, and I picked one that took place during the Greco-Turkish war."

Ji-Hoo watched in amazement as the girl faced them all, holding the little animal. All through her speech, his feelings went from disbelief to diversion to admiration for her quickness and nerve. The fact that she had been allowed to use the creature as her project was less shocking than the fact that she had actually come up with an explanation for it.

"At the end of two years of fighting," she concluded, "the Turks won, and a year latter the Republic of Turkey was recognized in the Treaty of Lausanne. We cannot know how the war would have evolved had King Alexander stayed alive and enjoyed the full support of the Allies. But we can say the monkey that bit him made an important change in the fate of the two nations. This is only one instance in history that shows how hazard can overturn the best laid plans and change outcomes that **some** might have considered as certain."

With that, Jan-Di looked straight into Jun-Pyo's eyes and smiled brightly; then she thanked the class and bowed. Ji-Hoo couldn't help but smile too, and he noticed that he wasn't the only one. Two of his friends glanced at each other, equally amused. Only Jun-Pyo seemed at a loss to decide how to react, and was watching the girl with a surprised and confused expression.

* * *

Jan-Di sat back down at her desk, trying to calm down the pounding of her heart. She hardly knew whether her agitation was from running, from fear, or from excitement.

After she had finished her presentation, Teacher Wong had sent her with the monkey back to the infirmary.

"What should I do with you now?" she had asked the little animal. "And what will **they** do?"

During her speech, three of them had appeared to be have fun, but Gu Jun-Pyo had been fixing her gravely, giving her goosebumps whenever she had glanced at him. And at the end, he had looked startled by her smile.

"Was it too much?" she asked the monkey. "Do you think it will make him try a worse revenge?"

But she was also excited. She had escaped them again! This time, the adventure could have been very costly. She was sure that Principle Ahn had been serious about considering to expel her.

"Dear Ah-Jong, with her random knowledge of history! She'll be glad to hear how much it helped me."

Back to class, she tried to focus on the teacher's lecture, but she could hardly make sense of what he was saying. Yet, she wanted the class to last forever because now she was relatively safe. However, it did end, and the students started to head towards the cafeteria.

"Not bad, Geum Jan-Di," grinned Ji-Hoo as he passed her on the hallway. "A risky project though. You should be more careful." And he smiled happily when she gave him an ugly stare.

"Principle Ahn seemed furious," added Iy-Jung, "Please take Ji-Hoo's advice, otherwise I'm afraid of what might happen."

"You're all kindness, So Iy-Jung," answered the girl with a sweet smile. "Your concern is truly touching."

"Are you still not going to apologize, Geum Jan-Di?" asked Jun-Pyo, seriously.

"I already have, Gu Jun-Pyo. I've apologized to my friend, for letting her meet someone like you."

He gazed at her strangely for another second, then turned his back and went away.

"Don't worry, Geum Jan-Di," said Woo-Bin, amused. "Really, the only thing you can do right now is to avoid stressing yourself over the inevitable." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Its name is Jukebox. Enjoy it."

Half an hour later, the entire school knew about the outcome of the monkey business. Jan-Di was happy to see some people smiling at her, although nobody had the courage to congratulate her in the open.

On the other hand, Ji-Hyun was rather worried.

"Did you see Gu Jun-Pyo's face? I think you got him angry."

"There was nothing else I could do. I don't care that he's angry."

Although she **did** care, and she was wondering anxiously what their next idea would be.


	5. Chapter 5 Intersections

Jan-Di brought the monkey home, creating stir among her family and friends. She told her parents that one of the Seungcheon students didn't want to keep it anymore, so she had offered to take it. But to Ah-Jong, she proudly presented her trophy and told her the whole story.

Her friend laughed with tears at Jan-Di's vivid descriptions of the faces that the Principle and her classmates had made. "You really are a genius, Jan-Di! Your nerve is amazing! How did the medieval heroes react?"

"As usual, they made veiled threats. Although... well, surprisingly enough, they didn't seem to mind so much. Except for Gu Jun-Pyo. His ego must have suffered a serious blow. He couldn't believe it!" and she laughed happily. "**I **can't believe my luck, either. If you hadn't told me about this monkey episode who knows where I'd be now?"

"It **was** lucky, wasn't it! If I hadn't started to learn history, I wouldn't have thought to look for animals that changed it. And if I hadn't come here that evening, maybe we wouldn't have talked. And if they had chosen a different animal... Life is so funny! Much more creative than us, so really, it's useless to plan things too much."

Jan-Di smiled. Her friend definitely didn't plan too much. Ah-Jong watched with curiosity as one thing in her life lead to another. And she loved twists and turns and coincidences.

After discussing Jan-Di's new adventure, Ah-Jong told her about the encounter in the park.

"I thought maybe I'd manage to mellow him a little," she said. "He seemed nice enough, but obviously, I didn't convince him."

"Yes, he does seem cute, doesn't he. His friendly smile never goes away. I think he likes to give false hopes to the victims. I don't have proof, but I suspect that he's the one who got the monkey. I'm sorry the guard didn't catch him."

The following days were relatively uneventful considering what she had been through. She kept finding monkey drawings on her belongings and Jukebox pillaged the cookies at The Spring Dreams several times. Also, after she finally found the courage to ask Jun-Pyo about Ah-Jong's backpack, the boy laughed at her, and the next day, her own backpack disappeared. She found a day later, hidden into a larger one. After that, Ah-Jong insisted that the matter would be better left alone since she had already bought new stuff.

Every day she went to school, she expected some new blow from the four jokers, and she had to struggle to keep the permanent tension from making her do something stupid. Several times, she noticed them as they were obviously talking about her, but she smiled sweetly and pretended to go about her business as usual.

However, she had to work really hard at appearing indifferent. Three of the boys were not such a trial for her, but she felt awfully intimidated by Gu Jun-Pyo. Whenever their eyes met, she felt as if an entire ant-hill had settled inside her stomach. _I'm afraid of him. Why would I be afraid of him? Bring it on, Gu Jun-Pyo! You'll see what I can do! _She felt angry with herself and made solemn promises to stop caring, but it was no use. The ants kept working and working.

On Friday, as she was in the cafeteria with Ji-Hyun looking around to find a free table, she happened to glance at him and he smiled at her. One moment, his face was serious, and the next, it broke into a smile that made his entire face light up. She almost dropped her food tray and the ants started to run around in crazed circles.

"Jan-Di," said Ji-Hyun in a low voice as soon as they had sat down. "Did Gu Jun-Pyo just smile at you?"

"Mmm," muttered Jan-Di. "I think so. I think he's preparing something new. Don't pay any attention to him."

In order to be able to follow her own advice, Jan-Di started to talk animatedly about the latest of Jukebox's attacks on the cakes.

"He stuck the rest of them in dad's pockets, and dad has the habit of thrusting both hands inside them after he puts the coat on. You can imagine the rest... I swear, there are five musketeers, not four. Jukebox is one of them. I think his face even resembles..."

Just then, the face that she was just about to mention popped up next to her.

"Resembles whose, Geum Jan-Di?" asked Jun-Pyo, placing his hand on the table near her elbow and leaning close.

She jumped up so suddenly that she lost her balance, and if Jun-Pyo hadn't supported her, she might have fallen.

She pushed him aside angrily. "Yah! Stay away!"

The boy laughed and raised both his hands as if to show that he had nothing to be feared for.

"What do you want?" she asked, clenching her fist.

"I just wanted to see what you cooked for today."

"Since when do you have that kind of curiosity?"

"Since forever, but I've never had the courage to ask. You scare people, Geum Jan-Di."

"Huh!"

People around them were chuckling, whispering, craning their necks to better see what was going on. Had he just done something? She looked around – her food seemed in order. Although, of course, there was no knowing for sure with this guy. Ji-Hyun looked confused and frightened. Close by, Ji-Hoo, Iy-Jung and Woo-Bin were watching them with grins on their faces.

Before she had time to say anything, the four boys turned their back and left.

She sat down again, but she didn't dare to continue eating. What if he had done something with her food? It seemed untouched, but she didn't trust that. Eventually, she closed her lunch box. She wasn't even hungry anymore.

For the next hours, she kept noticing other students looking at her with smiles on their faces, and then turning to speak to their friends. She thought she could hear them comment on the incident. At one point, she was sure that someone had said _'likes Jun-Pyo'_ and she was outraged. _What? Me? Are they talking about... Huh! How stupid!_

She was relieved when the day was done. Ah-Jong had invited her to dinner, so after classes were over, she settled herself in front o the gate. The sidewalk was full of students and the road full of cars and chauffeurs waiting for their charges.

Twenty minutes later, most had already left when she saw Ah-Jong turning the corner and heading for the school. As usual, she was speeding down the road, glancing with curiosity at the Seungcheon students who were climbing into limousines or shiny sports cars. She liked come in fast until she was almost at the gate, but now Jan-Di saw her pulling the breaks. A second later, a group of students that she hadn't paid any attention to stretched a rope across the road.

"Ah-Jong!" shouted Jan-Di.

But Ah-Jong had already noticed and she was squeezing the breaks to the maximum.

_She's not going to stop in time!_ Jan-Di let her own bike fall where it was and started to run toward the scene. However, she had barely made a step before Ah-Jong was already facing the rope. Turning the bicycle to the side and leaning in the opposite direction, her friend tightened her body to break even harder. Jan-Di could see that it still wasn't not enough. Jumping off and letting the bike crash under the rope, Ah-Jong made a spectacular leap over it, and Jan-Di's mood turned from panic to relief. _That's my Ah-Jong! What was I thinking?_

"That was so cool!" said Jan-Di as she reached her. Then, she turned to her schoolmates, scowling. "Yah! What were you thinking?"

Some cringed in mock fear, others just laughed, and Jan-Di's relief turned to anger.

"Let's check on the bike," said Ah-Jong, grabbing her arm and stopping her from marching to the group. "Dad's going to kill me if I've broken this one too."

The bicycle had slided to a stop into the curb, and Ah-Jong's new backpack had fallen off and was lying a couple of meters further. They fixed the chain, expressing their relief that nothing else was wrong with it, when Ah-Jong realized that her mobile phone had fallen out of her pocket.

"My phone!" she exclaimed, looking around for it.

"Do you call this a phone?"

They turned toward the voice and saw Woo-Bin, who was grinning and holding the case in one hand and the battery in the other.

"Thank you, Lee Woo-Bin," said Jan-Di, snatching the phone parts and giving them to Ah-Jong, who took them happily.

It was an old mobile, which Ah-Jong had received for her tenth birthday. That day, she had painted it as a climbing wall, with colored holds, because it had been a present from her climbing instructor. In time, she had added several other drawings to record good times with friends. Over the years, as it got increasingly battered and covered in new drawings, she had grown so fond of it, that even though her parents had offered to buy a new one, she had refused.

Woo-Bin laughed as she watched the girl carefully putting it together. "This is a great opportunity to ask your parents to replace this ancient thing."

"I don't want to replace it," said Ah-Jong, looking tenderly at the device.

The boy laughed again. "How can you like such an old junk?!"

"Oh, I **don't** like it," replied Ah-Jong in her usual playful style. "But I love it."

"How does that make any sense?"

Jan-Di scowled. Her friend loved these paradoxes and she inevitably got teased about them, but guys like Woo-Bin weren't welcome to it.

"I can imagine why it doesn't make sense to you," she said, angrily. "You've probably never kept something you didn't like for long enough to get to love it."

"I definitely don't keep things I dislike. And I'm sure they can't become lovable. Is that even an opinion?" he asked, turning back to Ah-Jong. "It sounds more like a hope."

"It's fact of life," she replied.

"So do you think that a guy like me could get to love you if I spent enough time with you?" Woo-Bin asked, leaning closer with a mischievous grin.

"Yah!" interjected Jan-Di. "Leave her alone!"

Ah-Jong looked a little flustered, but she kept her cool. "Tch! Is that question supposed to make me feel ashamed? Or maybe to break down in tears and confess my crushed hopes and dreams?"

"Oh, I'm sure that you're hoping for something, though you don't want to admit it."

"Your self-assurance is amazing, Lee Wo-Bin," replied Jan-Di. "Someone should do you a world of good and cut it down just a little bit."

Woo-Bin only chuckled and turned to leave.

"See you tomorrow, Geum Jan-Di."

"There's no school tomorrow," muttered Jan-Di, climbing her bike. "Ah-Jong," she called, still irritated, "why did you have to be so nice to him?"

"I didn't know what else to say!"

"What's wrong with you? You'd normally have ten ideas for revenge by now."

"There are times for revenge and times when you should be nice. These guys have too much influence."

"Since when are you fazed by something like that?!"

"Since you're all by yourself in there."

Jan-Di rolled her eyes.

"I don't want to cause more trouble for you," insisted Ah-Jong.

"I give you leave to cause as much trouble as you like."

As they were on their way, Ah-Jong notice that her friend was a little too silent and asked if something had happened again.

"No, nothing..." hesitated Jan-Di. "Things were mostly normal today, but I don't know why I had the impression that something was being prepared for me."

Only about halfway to The Spring Dreams, Ah-Jong noticed that something **had** been prepared.

"Er... Jan-Di, stop!" she said. "You have a sign stuck to the back of your coat."

With an angry, I-knew-it kind of sound, Jan-Di took her coat off and looked at it: _"On Saturday, free tea and cookies at The Spring Dreams for all Seungcheon students!"_

"Bloody brat!"

* * *

After spending the morning between school books and texts to Hyun-Jae, Ah-Jong headed for her father's climbing wall. By the time she left, she was exhausted and exhilarated as usual after struggling up some nice, difficult routes. She stopped at home for a quick meal, and then put some books in her backpack and went to The Spring Dreams.

"You went climbing I see," said Jan-Di as soon as she saw her. "You have your after-climbing face."

Ah-Jong smiled happily, then she started to fuss around, looking for something that she could help with, but not finding much. So the next hours were spent pretending to study, but actually chatting with Jan-Di, her parents, and the occasional customer who was in the mood to talk to her.

Around six, only one table was taken by a group of university students. Reluctantly, Ah-Jong considered going home to really study when the door bell rang, signaling the entrance of other customers. Both she and Jan-Di turned around smiling, and both lost their smiles at the same time. Jun-Pyo and Woo-Bin, on the contrary, widened their respective grins and yelled, "Good evening!" on top of their voices, then sat down at one of the tables.

"We came for the free tea," said Jun-Pyo.

"And cookies," added Woo-Bin.

Jan-Di's eyes had doubled their size, and she stood with her mouth open for a couple of seconds before she reacted.

"You have such nerve!"

"Jun-Pyo, did she invite us here to treat us like this?" asked Woo-Bin, mimicking surprise.

"Outrageous!" answered his friend.

"Who invited you?!"

"You advertised, Geum Jan-Di," said Jun-Pyo. "And now, we wish to have free tea."

"And cookies," added Woo-Bin.

And they both settled smugly in their chairs.

"Why?" snapped Jan-Di. "Didn't you get your allowances for today?"

Grinning happily, the boys kept expressing their indignation until Jan-Di turned her back and headed to the kitchen yelling, "Get out!"

"Geum Jan-Di," shouted Jun-Pyo, "you're not taking responsibility for your actions."

"Ah-Jong," bellowed her friend from beyond the doors in the back, "tell that moron to take off before you kick his ass!"

Ah-Jong went back to the boys' table, uncertain. They looked at her with eyebrows raised in expectant amusement.

"Hello, action girl," said Woo-Bin. "Are you going to start kicking our asses?"

Really, what was she supposed to do now? She didn't know how to get them to leave nicely. And she was definitely not going to beat them up. Besides, what if they stayed and they liked it? They could. After all, aunty's tea shop was the nicest, coziest place, and uncle's cookies were the best in the neighborhood. Maybe this would even help Jan-Di...

"Have they left yet?" shouted Jan-Di from the back.

"She says you can stay," Ah-Jong told them with a sweet smile, just as Jun-Pyo was going to open his mouth.

The two boys grinned at each other.

"Tell her she'll lose her customers with this kind of service," replied Jun-Pyo, loud enough for Jan-Di to hear.

"He says you're going to lose him," shouted Ah-Jong.

"Brilliant!" Jan-Di bellowed from the back.

"There's a certain brilliance..." started Ah-Jong to relay.

"Jan-Di," shouted one of the university students at the other table, "have Ah-Jong prepare some of her teas for them".

"That sounds scary," commented Woo-Bin.

Jan-Di came out of the kitchen, slamming the door.

"Jan-Di, they say they heard of uncle's cookies and want to try them," shouted Ah-Jong, cringing when she saw her friend's glare.

She knew that such a statement would definitely get one of Jan-Di's parents out there. Sure enough, Moon Se-Gyung appeared, smiling happily, and scolded her daughter for wanting to throw such customers out. She had barely approached the two boys and welcomed them, when the door bell chimed again and six other people came in. All were looking posh with their branded clothes and their assured, elegant walk.

"Good evening!"

"Jun-Pyo, Woo-Bin, you're already here!"

"We came, Jan-Di, thanks for the invitation," shouted one of them, waiving at Jan-Di who could only stare in shock.

They all crowded around the table where Jun-Pyo and Woo-Bin were sitting, and Jan-Di moved closer, unable to speak from embarrassment and anger.

"Good evening!" said her mother with an even nicer smile. "Are you Jan-Di's schoolmates?"

"Yes, madam, and Jan-Di invited all of us for tea and cookies," said a tall, pretty girl, returning an amused smile.

"Actually, mom..."

"What a great idea!" said Se-Gyung. "Jan-Di, you should have told me earlier. Your father would have made some fresh Princess Ban-Ya's. We always have some," she continued, turning to the confused Seungcheon students, "because they're our customers' favorites. But I'm afraid that an insane monkey ruined almost an entire batch again. Come, Jan-Di," she said, pulling her daughter to the kitchen, while the students were trying to hold back their chuckles. "Let's prepare the teas."

It was surely rather embarrassing for her friend to serve her own classmates, Ah-Jong thought, so she followed her and offered to take care of them herself. Looking at Moon Se-Gyung and taking care to ignore Jan-Di's glare, she said that she would prepare some of her "specials".

"They will love them or hate them, but either way, something will surely come out of it."

As Jan-Di really **was** upset by the idea of serving them, and her mother thought Ah-Jong's concoctions as were interesting more often than not, it was settled. Ah-Jong pulled out all the teas, herbs and spices that she could find in the kitchen and started to combine.

"What's with you?" hissed Jan-Di, with the first opportunity.

"I can't really beat them up, can I," replied Ah-Jong. "Just let them stay and maybe they'll have so much fun that they'll warm up to you."

"Are you crazy?! Oh, this is a nightmare! What if mom finds out?"

"Make sure she doesn't. Which means you can't shout at them either."

When she had ten steaming mugs – two more had joined the group – she placed them on a large tray and took them to the table where the Seungcheon students were chatting and laughing.

"Right," she said, cheerfully, placing the tray in the middle of the table. "There are ten different teas here. Each of you has to pick one. Don't think too much. Just let your instinct choose. The one you pick is the right one, and it will tell you something about yourselves. So while drinking, think of why the tea has chosen you and what it has to say."

"That's nonsense," scoffed another one of the girls with a superior grimace.

"Oh, come, Se-Yeon, it's fun!" said another, chuckling. "We're going to gain insight into our hidden – or otherwise visible – selves and leave this place much wiser."

"You're seeing things the right way, customer," replied Ah-Jong. "Tea is a metaphysical experience."

"What's your name?"

"I'm Oh Ah-Jong."

"Oh Ah-Jong, I'll have that one."

Ah-Jong placed in front of the girl a tea where she had mixed some gentle smelling herbs and nutmeg.

"I want the one in the green mug," said another girl. "Woo-Bin," she continued, as the boy was sniffing at the concoctions, "I see that you're not using your instincts."

"I feel some mint here," said the boy. "My instincts call for the minty one. It seems safe enough."

"I'm sorry," said Ah-Jong. "I forgot what I put in each mug."

"How can you forget?" scoffed the first girl again.

"She's a only tool of destiny, Se-Yeon," said one boy. "She was in a trance when doing it."

Chuckling, Woo-Bin chose a tea and nudged his friend to do the same.

"Come on, Jun-Pyo, let's see yours before all get taken."

"A sweet smell is coming from there," said Jun-Pyo, wrinkling his nose. "What if I get that tea?"

"Well," laughed Ah-Jong ironically, without thinking, "I'm sure that yours is not a sweet one." Then she checked herself under his narrowing eyes and turned to the others again. "Please, make your choices. Don't think too much, just pick."

When they each had a mug, Ah-Jong left them sipping the hot drinks and saying how much they liked or disliked them, commenting on their inner selves, laughing at each other, or complaining about "what kind of place is this?"

With a couple of exceptions she thought they were a nice group; and that Woo-Bin was funny **and** cute. Then she checked herself. _No, no, these are the bastards who make Jan-Di's life hell. I'm a really awful person for thinking of them as cute. I'm such a sucker for funny cute guys... It's pathetic._

She went to the kitchen and picked up a tray of cookies.

"Thank you, uncle!" she said, smiling at Geum Seung-Jo, and she went back to the serving area.

"Where's Geum Jan-Di?" asked Jun-Pyo as she was placing the plates in front of them.

"She wasn't back there," lied Ah-Jong, just as Jan-Di was entering from the direction of the kitchen with drinks for another group.

"She must have been under the table," said Jun-Pyo. "Geum Jan-Di, come over here!" he shouted.

"Yes, she should come," said the girl who had chosen the first tea. "We're her guests. She should stay with us." Then, she repeated the idea to Jan-Di, who had reluctantly approached their table. "Your friend will serve the other customers, won't you, Oh Ah-Jong?"

A chair was placed between two of the Seungcheon students, and Jan-Di had to sit down.

By nine o'clock, when they left, Ah-Jong was exhausted. The tea-shop had quickly filled up by then and she had to make endless trips from tables to kitchen and back, with her head full of orders. Every customer seemed to want some slight twist to the drink in the menu and all were changing their minds two or three times. After mixing up some orders, she tried to persuade as many as she could to accept a "surprise" tea. It was not the first time she was making surprises, and usually, she also came up with some "tales of origin" for her inventions. The regulars, who knew her habit, asked for stories.

"I've got none. My mind can't contain any stories right now," and she shot towards another table.

"It can't contain orders either," the customer shouted after her.

"Huh! Funny," she muttered through her teeth and noticed that some of the Seungcheon students were watching her, laughing.

Now, Ah-Jong had a new appreciation for her friend's work here and realized that the "help" she was giving in some nights was nothing at all.

* * *

After her schoolmates had left, Jan-Di returned to her role as a waitress, though Ah-Jong was impatient to talk to her and ask about how things had gone. It was only after closing and only with Moon Se-Gyung also present that they were able to talk. So Jan-Di didn't say anything that was really interesting. Then Sun-Hee also arrived to take Ah-Jong home for supper, and having a real discussion had to be postponed for Sunday.

Therefore, after an early breakfast, the girls decided to go people watching. They went to sit on the edge of a flower bed close to the entrance of The Green House, one of the most luxurious hotels in the city and one of their "locations" on the Tour of Forbidden Places. They chose their place close enough to see people who went in or came out, but not so close as to get conspicuous and be chased away.

Jan-Di had also been impatient for a lengthy talk with her friend, so she began right away by saying that she was both pleased and uncertain about last night.

"They started to comment on the tea-shop and some were nice, others a bit condescending. Obviously not the type of establishment that they're used to. But your idea with the wise tea was nice. By the way, Bo Eun-Gi liked hers so much that she wanted me to ask you to prepare some more of the blend for her."

"Oh, that would be a little difficult since I don't really remember all the blends," laughed Ah-Jong. "Which one is Bo Eun-Gi?"

"The tall one, with the yellow head band."

"Oh, yes! I liked her. She chose the first tea, and I think I remember itbecause I thought it suited her well. I'll make some more of it tonight."

She was happy about this little something that she could do to help Jan-Di.

"Thanks. She's a nice person. She was really trying to make me feel more at ease, though this was out of the question, of course. They're from such a different world, Ah-Jong! Almost all the subjects they talked about were out of my reach. The places they travel to are those we only see on TV. Their parties are nothing like ours, and their gossip is all about movie stars, large business owners, or politicians. It felt a bit like a TV show."

"How did Gu Jun-Pyo behave?"

"Better than I thought he would, though he tried a couple of times to embarrass me with his smart-ass remarks. Strangely enough, it was him who kept bringing me back into conversation. He probably only intended to make fun of me, but it didn't work very well. Your tea must have made him lose his touch."

After they talked about yesterday's evening for a while, Ah-Jong got to a different subject.

"I was thinking about starting to plan summer holiday."

"Already!" laughed Jan-Di.

"Yes, because I've been thinking about a new Tour of Forbidden Places, and that needs preparation. It'll go slowly, since I also have to study."

"Ah-Jong, just focus on studying and don't spend time on such preparations."

"I don't have to spend a lot of time on it." She reached into her backpack and took out a file. "Tada! I only have to change this synopsis a bit. I want the Tower Palace this time, or the Hyperion. Or both. I'll make the hero a famous actor and the girl will be a tourist guide. I'm thinking of distributing Song Tae-Joon as the actor, to add a little..."

She stopped short when somebody snatched the synopsis out of her hand. _Oh, no..._ she thought when she looked up and faced So Iy-Jung's dimples with his three friends in the background.

"What a pleasure to meet the two of you here. _'The Yellow Orchid'_" he read on the title page, raising he file over his had as Ah-Jong was trying to reach it.

Before she was able to take it back, Iy-Jung handed it to Ji-Hoo and barred her way. She tried to get past him, but all three boys were blocking her now, so she had to give up. Ji-Hoo skimmed through the pages and laughed silently, then started to read out.

"'_They live in __**bliss**__ for one week, after which Yoon Jin-Hee gets into an accident and __**loses his memory**__, but only partially; he can't remember the past year. His parents and Kyeong-Heon take advantage of it and decide to mention nothing about Hae-In. When he finally meets her, he treats her like a total __**stranger**__ and __**kicks**__ her out of his office_.'" As he was reading, he stressed the key words, mockingly. "Let me guess," he said, looking at Ah-Jong with an ironic smile, "he finally gets his memory back when he finds out she has an incurable disease."

"Give it back!" hissed the girl deeply embarrassed, especially since that was **exactly** how the story went on.

It was just an excuse for the Tour, not a work of art! But she couldn't let these boys know about her little excursion through luxury places.

Jan-Di seemed confused, not knowing what to say, so Ah-Jong looked at her and shook her head slightly.

"Did you write this work of art yourself?" asked Iy-Jung.

Ah-Jong said nothing.

"You're in luck, aspiring TV star," said Ji-Hoo. "We're four rich guys who can finance your drama. We'll take it with us and study it. Keep your fingers crossed!" and he gave her a wide smile.

There were two options: either to kick their asses or to let them have the story. But as she well knew, only the latter was actually possible. So she decided to ignore the burn of embarrassment, wondering why she even cared.

"Jan-Di," said Jun-Pyo now moving closer to the girl, "if you had a less embarrassing friend, you'd get further in life."

"If you had a friend like Ah-Jong, you wouldn't be such an arrogant bastard!" exclaimed Jan-Di angrily.

Ah-Jong gave a start. While she was doing her best to refrain from sharp replies, Jan-Di had no problem to confront this boy, although she knew what he could put her through at school!

"Of course not," was Jun-Pyo's reply. "I'd be so ashamed that I'd want to be invisible."

"That only means you're stupid."

Jun-Pyo was watching her with surprise. Most likely, so far nobody had dared to treat him otherwise than like a god.

"Oh Ah-Jong," he called, keeping his gaze on Jan-Di, "last evening you should have made tea for this punk as well. I'm curious if it would have been spicier than mine."

Since she thought that he wasn't really talking to her, Ah-Jong said nothing.

"Don't start to believe that you know me," replied Jan-Di instead.

"Why would I want to know you?"

"If you don't, then why are you curious about my tea?"

"She has a point!" said Woo-Bin cheerfully.

"This one holds you accountable for every little figure of speech," chuckled Jun-Pyo to Jan-Di's face, making her clench her fists.

Ah-Jong, who was watching him anxiously, thought that he wasn't actually angry at her friend, which could be a good sign.

"Let's go, guys," said Iy-Jung. "Otherwise our beautiful guests might reach the restaurant before we do."

"You're right," replied Jun-Pyo. "We have real beauties to meet and we waste our time with these two. See you at school, Geum Jan-Di," he added with a wicked smile.

"I can hardly wait," she replied through her teeth.

Sniggering, the boy turned his back, starting to walk to the entrance of the hotel.

"Geum Jan-Di," said Woo-Bin, genially, "thank you for the entertainment. And Oh Ah-Jong, thank you, too. I'm having a lot of fun with you. I can't wait to read your creation."

Ah-Jong preferred to say nothing.

The other two boys ignored her and only said good bye to Jan-Di, expressing with similar mischievous grins the expectation to see her again on Monday.

After they all went into The Green House, the girls slumped back on the edge of the flower bed.

Ah-Jong laughed bitterly. "My meetings with these people are so unfortunate! Jan-Di, I hope that you won't have problems again because of me. Last night, things seemed to be going well for you. I'd hate it if I ruined it again."

"What are you talking about?! These brats are not being like that because of you. They are just a bunch of spoiled kids who think they're superior to everybody. Especially that Gu Jun-Pyo. Please don't let what he said get to you. Sooner or later, I would have told him what I thought about him and the same things would have happened to me. I just hate it that they involve you in this."

"Let's stop thinking about them. Ugh!" she groaned, covering her face with her hands "Right now they are probably ordering lobster and reading my story, out of their wits with laughter."

She felt a burn in her stomach as Ji-Hoo's face appeared in front of her eyes. _I hate that guy!_

"Do you know that The Green House is the property of So Iy-Jung's father? We were practically his guests."

Both girls burst out laughing.

* * *

When the boys entered The Green House, a team leader approached them quickly to greet the son of the owner and his three friends.

"Welcome, sir!" he told Iy-Jung.

"Hello, Team Leader Lee," said the boy stopping to talk to him. "Is everything all right?"

"All is going smoothly, sir," answered the employee. "Your private room in the Jardin à la Française is ready for you."

"Thank you. We'll be joined by Kim Se-Yeon and Lee Jung-Hwa. Please receive them and lead them to us right away."

"Of course, sir."

At the restaurant, a tall, beautiful young woman received them with an excited smile and lead them to a comfortable room, with a table set for six. It was always fun for Ji-Hoo to watch the effect that his friend had on his father's female employees. Regardless of age, they all seemed ensnared by Iy-Jung's charm.

"Let's see now," said Jun-Pyo as soon as they were settled with drinks in front of them. "Read out the story, Ji-Hoo."

Without needing to be asked a second time, Ji-Hoo opened the file and, with a dramatic attitude, started to read out extracts from Ah-Jong's synopsis, stopping after each for applause and comments. _She's so unbelievably stupid!_ This was more fun than the contents of the backpack.

"Insensible people like you can't appreciate the depth of these feelings," said Jun-Pyo, wiping off his tears.

"We might when Song Tae-Joon brings them to life," answered Ji-Hoo.

"We should let him know that he's been chosen," added Iy-Jung. "This will be such a boost to his career."

"How can Geum Jan-Di be friends with this person?!" wondered Jun-Pyo. "If anything, I have to admit she's a smart girl."

"Maybe she just pities the poor thing," replied Iy-Jung. "How did the free tea go last night, anyway?"

"Oh... it wasn't too bad," answered Jun-Pyo with indifference, while Woo-Bin chuckled and gave him a sideway glance. "Geum Jan-Di wanted to throw us out," Jun-Pyo continued, grinning, "but her mother was happy to see her visited by such high-class schoolmates. Chan-Hee also came, and Yoo-Bi... Se-Yeon was also there. Iy-Jung, I think she was disappointed that you were absent. Anyway, it was fun watching Geum Jan-Di all flustered by the honor of sitting with us."

"I didn't think I'd see Jun-Pyo going to a third-rate tea shop," said Iy-Jung.

"To see a girl," added Ji-Hoo with an allusive grin.

"What girl?!" jumped Jun-Pyo. "I didn't go there to see Geum Jan-Di. I had to follow up on our latest business with her, right? And you both should have come."

"I'm sorry," said Iy-Jung, "my date was too beautiful for that place. We went to the Namu and drank Chateauneuf-de-Pape from '72. I don't suppose they serve Chateauneuf-de-Pape from '72 at Geum Jan-Di's tea shop."

Jun-Pyo laughed. "I don't think they've heard of it. Instead, that girl, Oh Ah-Jong, made us some dubious potions."

Woo-Bin chuckled again. "Very dubious, yes. And she appears to make such things all the time for the other customers."

"It seems that Woo-Bin had more fun than you," said Ji-Hoo.

"Woo-Bin thinks Oh Ah-Jong is amusing," said Jun-Pyo and the three boys started to jeer.

"Woo-Bin, please don't give us the bad news," said Ji-Hoo.

"I wanted to discourage you from liking Jung-Hwa," added Jun-Pyo, "but now I see that she's a brilliant option."

"I don't like Jung-Hwa. My mother keeps pushing her down my throat."

"I'm more and more concerned!" exclaimed Iy-Jung. "Don't tell us that we'll get to see the raccoon here. I think Manager Gyeon might quit if she had to accommodate such a person."

"I'm disappointed in you, my friends!" said the boy, amused. "Would you desert me if I liked a Cinderella?"

Ji-Hoo knew that none of them would reject Woo-Bin no matter whom he was in love with, but he was convinced that his friend didn't really like Oh Ah-Jong. Although she had actually stopped looking like a raccoon, and her face was surprisingly improved by that, he couldn't believe that Woo-Bin would like such a stupid person. So thought it perfectly safe to continue with his teasing.

"Not a Cinderella, Woo-Bin," he said. "She's more like one of Cinderella's sisters. How can we sit aside and let you like one of Cinderella's sisters?"

"You guys are so predictable," laughed Woo-Bin, unconcerned. "But even if I did like her, it would be unrequited love, because it's Jun-Pyo that **she** likes."

"Ugh!" exclaimed Jun-Pyo, chocking with his drink, while the others jeered again. "Are you trying to make me sick?"

"She likes you. It's obvious. Didn't you notice how she watches you?"

"Huh!" made Iy-Jung. "Don't you feel lucky? You caught the eye of a raising star. Don't miss this chance cause when she becomes a famous drama writer she might not take a second look at the likes of you."

Just then, Se-Yeon and Jung-Hwa entered the room, and the boys got up to greet them.

"Who's the girl who wouldn't look at Jun-Pyo?" asked Jung-Hwa. "Did you finally meet someone who rejects you?"

"Not yet, Jung-Hwa," grinned the boy.

"You should. It would be such a character builder."

All six had been to a party the night before, after the free tea, so the discussion started inevitably with that subject. The event had been organized by the company of one of their schoolmates' mother, a luxury cosmetics producer, to promote their newest perfume. To their great satisfaction, the guest list had been repleted with movie stars, fashion magazine editors in chief, famous TV show hosts, beautiful models, owners and heirs of large businesses.

At length, Se-Yeon and Jung-Hwa noticed Ah-Jong's synopsis, and the boys shared it with them. Once again, laughing at it brought them back to the free tea evening at The Spring Dreams.

"I thought that all four of you would be there," said Se-Yeon. "This is what Yoo-Bi told me."

"I was detained," said Iy-Jung, who was the one addressed by this remark. "Unfortunately, I didn't know who'd be present," he added, looking Se-Yeon in the eyes and smiling, "otherwise, whatever I had to do could have been postponed."

The girl blushed and laughed affectedly. "You're incorrigible, Iy-Jung! But I have to admit, you made a good choice. You would have hated it."

"I suspect that some enjoyed themselves quite a lot," said Ji-Hoo, smiling mischievously.

"Oh, yes... some did," replied Se-Yeon without noticing his glance at Jun-Pyo. "Eun-Gi is actually thinking of going there again. Not surprising, right? She was very friendly with Geum Jan-Di and the other girl, I'm afraid I forgot her name. At one point, she invited Geum Jan-Di to sit with us! I couldn't believe it! After all, we hadn't gone there to get friendly with **her.** Isn't that so, Jun-Pyo?"

"It was better that she sat with us. We could laugh at her some more."

"Yes, that's true," agreed Se-Yeon. "She's very ignorant, isn't she? It's amazing how much of our education we take for granted. Most of the time, I imagine it's an ordinary thing to know what goes on in the world, or to have some knowledge of... our social issues, for instance. But actually, so few people are taught to pay attention to these things, let alone to understand them."

"Don't be so serious, Se-Yeon!" said Woo-Bin. "We were there to have fun and to mess with Geum Jan-Di. Maybe this time, she can be excused for not discussing social issues."

"I guess teenage violence was the only social issue she had in mind," said Jun-Pyo, and laughed in a way that made Ji-Joo smile and glance at the other two boys. They all thought that Jun-Pyo had started to like Jan-Di more than he cared to admit, and that he had suggested the free tea joke with the ulterior motive of seeing her outside school.

"We finally managed to make her angry," continued their friend. "Did you see her face when we came in?"

"Yes, I did," answered Woo-Bin. "She looked like she had spent the entire day hoping to see you, and she could barely contain her happiness when it finally happened."

Instead of laughing at the irony, Jun-Pyo looked a little confused, and his friends chuckled and glanced at each other again. If the girls hadn't been there, Ji-Hoo would have loved to make some serious fun of him. As it was, he only commented that he would have liked to see Jan-Di's face.

"Usually she's pretty calm. It must have upset her that you went on her territory. She probably thought herself safe there."

"She's safe from my part!" exclaimed Se-Yeon. "I would never go back to that place. Iy-Jung, if the service here were anywhere near that one, your father would fire the entire staff. Everything was a disaster, from the cheap, unmatched mugs to the waitress who couldn't remember the orders properly."

"Their customers seem to have a good time there," replied Jun-Pyo, rather coldly.

"Se-Yeon didn't like her mug," added Woo-Bin, "because she chose it for the painted flowers and only later noticed that animal buts were also blooming here and there."

"Well, that was tasteless!" intervened Jung-Hwa. "But typical for a third rate tea shop. However, Woo-Bin, **you** seem to have enjoyed yourself."

"Sure, I did. And it hurts to hear that Se-Yeon didn't, considering that she had **us** for company. Perhaps we weren't enough?"

Se-Yeon blushed. "Woo-Bin, of course I liked the company! Or most of it. But how could I enjoy myself with a bland cup of tea in front of me, an impertinent person serving us, and noisy people all around?"

"And what had you expected, Se-Yeon?" asked Ji-Hoo.

"I wasn't sure what to expect since I never go to that neighborhood."

"We all knew we weren't going to a luxury lounge bar," said Jun-Pyo. "It was a joke we played on Geum Jan-Di, right? A different kind of fun. And I'm happy with the outcome."

_Of course you are_, thought Ji-Hoo, grinning.

* * *

**I won't be able to update for a couple of weeks, so I hope to make it up to you with this nice long chapter :). **


	6. Chapter 6 Hmm

**A/N: I'm back :). Thank you for your reviews and wishes. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as I've enjoyed writing it.**

* * *

On Monday, Jan Di was pleasantly surprised when some of the students who had been at The Spring Dreams smiled at her and said hello. Others looked at her with curiosity, having probably heard about the Saturday evening from their schoolmates.

"Hi, Jan-Di!" said Go Ji-Hyun, looking a little apprehensive. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything last Friday. They threatened me..."

With a reassuring smile, Jan-Di told her that she wasn't upset and that things had not turned out too bad.

"Only ten came."

"Really?! Who came?"

During the ten minutes they had before science class, Jan-Di told her what she could and promised more details at lunch break. She was impatient to talk to Go Ji-Hyun at leisure and hear her opinion. The three hours spent with her schoolmates had left her both excited and apprehensive. She didn't think she had done well, but even if for a short while, she had felt herself included. If only Go Ji-Hyun had also come, it would have been perfect.

But during the break until math class, she had to leave her friend, explaining that there was something she wanted to give to Bo Eun-Gi. The evening before, Ah-Jong had made some of the herbal and nutmeg tea, had packed it in a brown paper bag and had added a label, on which she had drawn a forest path, naming the tea Forest Wind.

If Jan-Di had been worried about Eun-Gi's reaction at being approached by her, she was immediately set at ease. Her classmate was happy about the present and just as friendly to Jan-Di as two days ago.

"Thank you, Jan-Di! And please, thank Oh Ah-Jong for me. I'm going to enjoy this very much! It's the tea I drank at Jan-Di's family tea shop on Saturday," she explained to the students who were curious about the little package, "and this tea, as I was told, chose me, in order to say something about me."

"And what did it say, Eun-Gi?" asked Iy-Jung, with an ironic smile, reading on the tea bag over the girl's shoulder. "That you're a forest creature?"

"It says that breeze over annoying fauna without paying any attention," she answered, throwing him a cold stare.

"You've just paid attention," Woo-Bin pointed out.

"Hmm..." made Eun-Gi, pretending to listen, but ignoring Woo-Bin, "I think a fly is buzzing."

At first, Jan-Di had almost snapped at Iy-Jung, but Eun-Gi seemed unfazed. So she just smiled at the girl again and turned to leave

Before taking one step, she was stopped by Jun-Pyo. "We read your friend's story yesterday. Very entertaining."

"She'll be thrilled to hear it," she replied and tried to sidestep him.

"Did you help her with it?" continued the boy, blocking her way again. "I thought I recognized some of your expressions."

"Really?" she replied, raising her eyebrows. "Which expressions?"

Jun-Pyo looked a little discomposed. "I... can't remember them exactly. I don't make an effort to memorize silly things."

"But you must have memorized my expressions, since you recognized them."

"I didn't. They just sounded like you."

"How interesting," she replied with fake haughtiness and forced her way around him, irritated that such a jerk was making her fell so shy.

What with the discussion with Eun-Gi and the diversion made by Jun-Pyo, she barely had time to exchange a few words with Ji-Hyun before math class started. And those words had only been about what Jun-Pyo had wanted with her just earlier.

At lunch break, Jan-Di started to tell her friend of her evening with their schoolmates. Ji-Hyun only had time to ask how the two Musketeers had behaved, when they saw all four of them taking a table next to theirs. Jan-Di pulled her lunch box closer and placed her arm in a protective position. _They're up to something again._

Noticing that Ji-Hyun was agitated by their presence, she suggested to change tables. They got up and turned to leave, when she felt something blocking her leg. A moment later she was on the ground, with lunch box content on her uniform and pain in her arm and head. The other students were laughing.

She looked up and saw Ku Ji-Won watching her with a smirk. Trying to get up, a cry escaped her as searing pain went through her left arm.

Suddenly, she felt somebody grabbing her waist and raising her unceremoniously to her feet, and she found herself facing Jun-Pyo.

"Did you get so emotional from seeing us that you forgot to look at your feet?" he asked.

He took a napkin and started to wipe the blood that was dripping from the wound in her forehead.

"Leave me alone," she muttered, but he was holding her good arm, and she felt too dizzy from the hit in the head, so she couldn't push him away.

"I'll take her to the school doctor," said Ji-Hyun.

Jun-Pyo hesitated, still holding Jan-Di's arm and wiping her face, while Ji-Hoo picked up the pieces of her lunch box. It was only when she saw the broken box that she felt tears raising to her eyes. It had been a present from Ah-Jong, who had painted it for her birthday five years ago.

"Go Ji-Hyun, take her to the doctor," said Ji-Hoo gently.

* * *

When she finally came back to the classroom, with her arm well wrapped and a patch over the head wound, she noticed a change in everyone's mood. The other students took glances at her, but turned away quickly and nobody was laughing or jeering. Ku Ji-Won was sitting with a haughty face and didn't look at her at all.

Her surprise at this new attitude was surpassed when Ji-Hoo came to her during the next break to say that he had taken her lunch box and would fix it. She tried to refuse, but he insisted, saying that he enjoyed tinkering with such things and promising, quite seriously, that he would bring it back as good as new.

In the evening, she became aware of a new problem. With her wounded hand, she was unable to ride the bike. She was considering options when a large car stopped in front of her. The driver got out and opened the door.

"Please, get in, Miss," he said. "I will put the bike in the trunk."

On the back seat of the car she saw Jun-Pyo and she took a step backward.

"Thank you, it's ok, I'll manage."

"Get in, Geum Jan-Di!" said Jun-Pyo, "Don't make me come out and drag you."

"I'll manage!" she shouted.

Jun-Pyo opened the door on his side and circled the car while telling the driver to put the bike in the trunk.

"Don't be stupid," he told Jan-Di. "You can't ride your bike like this. Get in."

And he put his hand on her back to push her toward the car, taking care not to hurt her arm.

Since she couldn't see a better solution, she climbed in and settled herself awkwardly on the comfortable seat. A few seconds later, Jun-Pyo was next to her. He asked where she wanted to go, and told the driver where The Spring Dreams was.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked after a while.

"I don't like this kind of jokes. Making someone trip like that shows complete lack of imagination."

"Oh, yes. You pride yourself with your imaginative tricks."

"You have to admit, they are imaginative," he said with a grin.

She glanced at him, frowning.

"So getting somebody expelled is much better."

"Isn't it? Would you rather break your neck?"

"I've never thought I'd have to choose between the two," she replied, rolling her eyes.

Another long silence followed, and Jan-Di realized how quiet it was. The sound of the traffic outside was barely audible, and the engine was purring softly. She thought it was this lack of noise that made her so aware of Jun-Pyo's presence. She had never been alone with him or sat so close, and she felt so nervous that she barely breathed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him – relaxed, confident, probably not even knowing how it felt like to be awkward.

"Ji-Hoo took your lunch box to fix it," said Jun-Pyo after several minutes. "He's good at these things. He likes to tinker."

"Thank you," she replied and felt silly for finding nothing else to say. "I like that box," she continued some moments later. "It was a present."

Then she wished she had said nothing. He couldn't have cared about the stupid box. That's why there was no reply from him.

They sat in silence until they reached the tea shop. She wanted to get out of the car, but Jun-Pyo told her to wait. While the driver took her bike out of the trunk, the boy opened the door for her and helped her out. She felt flustered by the touch of his hand and angry at herself for feeling so. The moment this bastard had paid her the slightest attention, which was not even proper attention, she had started to be like all those silly girls who hyperventilated whenever he addressed them!

Instead of leaving her at the door, Jun-Pyo insisted to follow her inside, ignoring her mutterings that she wasn't an invalid.

Moon Se-Gyung was beside herself with concern when she saw her daughter.

"Jan-Di, what happened?!"

"I'm ok, mom, it's nothing serious."

"Somebody made her trip in the school cafeteria," said Jun-Pyo.

"It was a mistake," added Jan-Di quickly, glancing at her classmate, hoping to shut him up. "Mom, this is my schoolmate, Gu Jun-Pyo. I couldn't ride the bike, so he drove me here."

Her mother thanked him, observed that she had seen him there on Saturday evening, and invited him for another cup of tea. Taken aback, Jan-Di was going to withdraw the invitation, but Jun-Pyo accepted before she could say anything, so she had to sit down with him at one of the tables. _Why did he accept? Is he planning another trick?_

The boy sat and crossed his legs, looking around, appearing to be in a great mood. Suspiciously great mood, as Jan-Di thought.

"This place is not so bad," he commented.

"Is that a compliment?"

"Well, yes. If I said 'this place is awesome', then what description would be left for... Jardin à la Française for instance?"

"Stunning?"

"I can't call Jardin à la Française stunning. Then what would be left for Goryeo?"

"Of course," smiled Jan-Di. "Nothing less than Flora Danica tableware and Van Perckens champagne coolers can satisfy you."

"You've been to the Goryeo?" asked Jun-Pyo, raising his eyebrows.

He had said it in a casual way, clearly not believing it, but Jan-Di felt a little disconcerted because she had actually seen the place and had talked to an assistant manager while on the Tour of Forbidden Places.

"No..." she answered, "I've just heard of it."

"Well, what I actually like about it is the artworks they display. And the service."

Jan-Di smiled when she thought of the contrast with Ah-Jong's service, which he had witnessed on Saturday night. Just then, her mother, who had a hard time serving all by herself, asked a group of customers to get their own tea from the counter.

"Please help me with that, Yoon Joo-Won. I have to take this order."

"Our service here is special," said Jan-Di, glancing sideways at Jun-Pyo, and they both smiled.

"It's a friendly place," remarked Jun-Pyo. He paused for a minute, in which Jan-Di fretted nervously. "You won't be able to help your mother for a while, will you?" he added eventually.

"Oh, yes, I will. I'll manage."

"I'm sorry, I forgot whom I was talking to. The Monkey Whisperer will manage anything. However, I'm going to ask Iy-Jung to see if he can send one of his father's employees for a week or two."

"Why?!" asked Jan-Di, bewildered.

"To help you with the tea shop, of course."

"I meant, why would you help me?"

The boy shrugged. "I told you, I don't like unimaginative jokes."

"Are you imagining a better one right now?" asked Jan-Di, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You have a very suspicious nature, Geum Jan-Di," he replied, with a wide smile.

She couldn't believe his nerve! He was sitting there, in her parents' tea shop, joking as if he were an innocent child, probably planning some other mischief. On her territory!

"Only where you and your three brothers in arms are concerned, Gu Jun-Pyo!"

"I have just offered disinterested help to my classmate, and this is how she treats me!" he said, still amused.

Jan-Di bit her lip, hesitating. After all, she was grateful for his help. "Thank you. I appreciate that you brought me here."

"That's more like it. Do you realize this is the first nice thing you said to me?"

That nerve again!

"I'm sorry, Gu Jun-Pyo! You're right, I treat you so badly! Do you think the whole school has noticed how mean I am to you?"

"I believe so. Why else would people play all those jokes on you?"

At this, Jan-Di couldn't help but smile, and she turned her head, attempting and failing to hide her amusement. Though reluctantly, she had to admit that he was fun to talk to and that she liked being here, exchanging zingers. The second was an even more disturbing observation than the first. It was this that finally wiped the smile off her face.

When she looked up again, she saw the boy watching her with a serious and weird expression. Immediately, he averted his eyes and started to scan the tea shop.

Jan-Di did the same, and her eyes met a customer's, who had just walked in. The young man smiled and bowed in her direction, and she answered in the same manner.

"One of your regulars?" asked Jun-Pyo.

"Yes, he is. I should... I should start helping my mother. The tea shop is filling up, and as you see, she has a hard time keeping up all by herself."

"All right, I'll leave," he immediately replied and stood up. "Thank you for the tea."

"You're welcome," she answered awkwardly, standing up as well.

He bowed his head, then he said good bye to Jan-Di's mother, explaining that he had to be home for supper. Jan-Di watched him go, still amazed and confused about his gesture. She was partly distrusting his intentions, though she couldn't imagine how this would be another one of his ways to make her miserable.

* * *

The next days in school were unusually peaceful for Jan-Di. Friendlier schoolmates kept saying hello, the others were ignoring her. At times, she thought that the four boys were talking about her, and she felt some of the familiar sting of anxiety, but for some reason, her fears weren't so strong.

On Tuesday morning, Ji-Hyun was relieved to see Jan-Di in a clearly better shape then the day before. Only after they had parted last night had she realized how unfit Jan-Di was to ride her bike. She had immediately started to look for her friend, intending to take her home by car.

"But I've heard that it was Gu Jun-Pyo who drove you home in the end. How did that happen?"

"Well... he just stopped his car in front of me and made me get in."

"It's surprising, isn't it?"

"Yes, I was very surprised. And not only that, but he even accepted my mom's invitation to stay for tea."

Ji-Hyun looked amazed and troubled at the same time.

"He's probably brewing another joke, isn't he?" asked Jan-Di, seeing her friend's face.

"I'm afraid that's possible," said Ji-Hyun, hesitating. "Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't realize that you needed a drive! But from now on, **I'll** drive you until you can get back on your bike."

"Oh, don't trouble yourself, Ji-Hyun. I'll take the bus."

"No, no! It's no trouble at all. We're friends, right? I don't want you to take the bus. You're hurt, and somebody might bump into you. Who knows? Please accept."

Though reluctantly, Jan-Di accepted, and they had to stop talking about this subject because two other girls, whom Ji-Hyun had gotten close to lately, joined them in the hallway. However, they, too, were curious about yesterday's drive with Gu Jun-Pyo, so Jan-Di had to satisfy them at least in part. She told them about how the boy had stopped his car and offered to take her home, and how she hadn't been able to refuse because she couldn't ride.

"But now Ji-Hyun offered to take me, so I won't have to go with him," she finished with a smile.

By the two girls' expression, Jan-Di could tell they didn't think it was such a bad thing to be driven home by Gu Jun-Pyo and they considered her astonishingly lucky for it. In fact, they didn't quite believe that Jan-Di was anymore reluctant than **they** would have been.

"Oh, yes, that would be..."

"...bad... Riding with Gu Jun-Pyo is..."

"...bad..."

And they both laughed.

Just then, Jun-Pyo passed by and glared at the two girls, whose smiles disappeared.

"He heard us," whispered one of them.

The other three boys followed, and Iy-Jung stopped and produced one of his charming smiles.

"Seo Min-Hee, I thought it was me you were in love with. Don't tell me you prefer Jun-Pyo now."

"Oh," said the girl, smiling at him bravely, "I'm in love with all four of you. It would be unfair to make me choose."

The boy snorted amusedly. He glanced at the others, finishing with Jan-Di to whom he bowed his head, still smiling. With that, he left them, and Min-Hee exhaled loudly, chuckling together with her friend.

On Thursday, Ji-Hoo approached Jan-Di with her lunch box in his hands. It looked in one piece.

"Here you are. I fixed it, and our cook put some snack in it. I hope you'll enjoy it."

"Thank you!" said Jan-Di, surprised. "You are... very kind, Kang Ji-Hoo."

As he left her, she followed him with an watchful gaze, but he just sat down at his desk with a serious expression, without looking at his friends or talking to them in any way that seemed suspicious.

Though she had brought food as usual, Jan-Di took her old lunch box to the cafeteria. She didn't want to reject Ji-Hoo's gift outright, although she suspected some new joke. Instead, she resolved to look through the food carefully and take only a small bite of anything. And avoid any kind of gravy. When Ah-Jong wanted to mess with someone's food, she was always using the gravy.

She sat down at a table with Ji-Hyun, and they were joined again by Seo Min-Hee and her friend, Ha Ji-Sook.

A moment later, Jun-Pyo and his three friends sat down at a table next to theirs, chatting and completely ignoring them.

_Hmm..._ thought Jan-Di. _This is not good._

Min-Hee and Ji-Sook glanced at each other knowingly.

"Huh!" interjected Min-Hee in a low voice. "They are right there, at arm's length."

"Godzilla's arm, but I'm still satisfied," answered Ji-Sook.

"Do you think..." started Min-Hee, but was suddenly stopped.

"_Quack!"_

Jan-Di froze. She had just tried to slide the lid of the lunch box open, and the loud sound seemed to come from inside, deep and nasal, perfectly resembling a duck's quack. She moved the lid carefully.

"_Quack!"_

The four boys snorted, and the nearby students were craning their necks to see what was going on. Ji-Hyun was shocked, but the other two girls were trying to contain their amusement, not doing a very good job of it.

Jan-Di tried to open the box some more.

"_Quack!_ _Quack!"_

All around her, people started to chuckle and Jan-Di had to hide her face in a napkin, attempting to repress her own laughter.

"Geum Jan-Di," shouted Jun-Pyo, "you seem to like your food really fresh."

Jan-Di couldn't hold back anymore. She covered her mouth with a napkin, in a last-minute attempt to stop, but her laughter burst out into it.

"I think Kang Ji-Hoo's cook forgot to fry the duck," she replied when she was able to talk again.

Ignoring the loud quacks, she opened the lunch box all the way and took out a small toy, that was wired to a small amplifier and set in such a way that made the sound every time the lid was moved. The food was placed in a carefully separated compartment and there was no gravy in sight. Jan-Di started to eat, relieved to find it delicious.

* * *

Early on Saturday morning, Ah-Jong was sitting in the quiet tea shop with a cup of tea and the history book in front of her, attempting to study. Next to her was Jan-Di, really studying. It was raining heavily outside, but Ah-Jong had chosen to leave home and spend the day together with her friend.

She had been really concerned to see Jan-Di hurt. It scared her that the trouble at Seungcheon had gotten so physical.

But then, she had found out about Jun-Pyo's gesture and had been a little confused. Driving Jan-Di to the tea shop had been unexpectedly generous of him and had turned out not to be another trick. While staying with her for tea had been... what? Generous was not a suitable word for **that**. Maybe he felt guilty for indirectly provoking Jan-Di's wounds. Since he and his friends had such an influence at school, their behavior to Jan-Di **could** have licensed others to be cruel, so he **should** feel guilty. Hmm...

On the other hand, the quacking lunch box had been rather cute and harmless, not to mention how nice of Kang Ji-Hoo for actually repairing it. Was this a peace offer?

Just as Ah-Jong was musing this way, one of the objects of her thoughts entered the tea shop. Jan-Di lifted her head and froze when seeing Jun-Pyo.

"Good morning," he smiled and sat at a table.

"What are you doing here?!" asked Jan-Di, looking astonished.

"Is this how you treat customers? I came to have tea."

Jan-Di looked at Ah-Jong, who looked back with wide eyes.

"This is Saturday. Don't you take the weekend off?"

"What can you mean?" asked Jun-Pyo with fake surprise. "This is how I'm taking the weekend off."

"I think you're in the wrong tea shop. The Orchid Garden is in the **other** side of the city."

Jun-Pyo picked up a menu. "I want a Kiss of the Violet," he said, slightly stressing the word "kiss" and looking at Jan-Di with a grin.

"We're out."

They suddenly heard the voice of Jan-Di's mother from the direction of the kitchen. "Gu Jun-Pyo! Hello!"

"Hello, Mrs. Moon Se-Gyung!" said the boy, getting up and bowing. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Glad to see you again. I hope you'll take a warm cup of tea," she said, coming near him.

"I'd like that, thank you."

"What tea would you like?"

"I'll take whatever you recommend for warming up a cold person," he said, and Jan-Di snorted silently.

"In this case I'll make you a Cranky Princess. The ginger will warm you up for sure."

"Perfect!" he answered, looking amused.

"Just sit comfortably, and Jan-Di will bring your tea."

With this, she headed for the kitchen, signaling to her daughter to follow her. Grudgingly, Jan-Di obeyed, glaring at Jun-Pyo and getting a wide smile for an answer.

Ah-Jong stuck her head in her book, all the while focusing in Jun-Pyo's direction, trying to perceive as much as she could out of the corner of her eye. He was just browsing the menu.

She wondered why he was here. What could his reason be? If he planned another joke for Jan-Di, it was rather curious that he had come all that way, on Saturday, through the rain, for just that. Of course, he must have been driven here in his expensive car. Nevertheless, he had gone through much trouble only to play a trick on a schoolmate. Surely he had more fun things to do and fancier places to go to. _Hmm... What if...?_. Ah-Jong would have been very little surprised if Jun-Pyo liked her friend. _Who wouldn't like her?... Even someone like Gu Jun-Pyo should, even if these guys say they only like – how did that boy put it? – high class. As if the class of girls like Han Cho-Hee were anywhere near the hight of Jan-Di's knee!_

At length, Jan-Di came out, went to the boy's table and slammed the cup of tea in front of him, saying nothing. Then she came to sit in front of her books again and started to read very intently.

"This tea must be named after you," said Jun-Pyo.

Jan-Di ignored him. Just as she was wondering whether she had better left, Ah-Jong was startled by Jun-Pyo's voice.

"Oh Ah-Jong, how's drama writing going?" said he, smiling ironically.

"Excellent, thank you for asking!" she replied, displaying a sweet smile.

"Are you working on a new project?"

"Yes, I am."

She was definitely going to organize another Tour, and would make sure to include one of the buildings that were owned by this guy's family.

"I can't wait to see it."

"Who knows? You might **hear** of it."

She noticed Jan-Di throwing her an amused look. Her intentions were probably clear to her friend.

"You should write about a girl who likes a guy," suggested Jun-Pyo, "but doesn't know how to confess to him. So instead, she frowns and growls at him all the time."

_Huh!_ Was he talking about Jan-Di?

"Or," intervened her friend, "you could write about a guy who believes that all girls become awestruck every time he walks into a room. Eventually, he finds out they aren't so crazy about him, and he loses his memory from the shock."

Ah-Jong chuckled; that was definitely about Jun-Pyo. But... there was something fishy in the way Jan-Di had said this. _Hmm_... This teasing was adding quite a new dimension to their relationship as Ah-Jong knew it. Either this Jun-Pyo was planning something, or more likely, he was developing some feelings for Jan-Di. As for Jan-Di herself...

"Thank you for inspiring me with such interesting ideas," she answered, grinning smugly.

Her friend noticed her and gave her a threatening look.

"Ah-Jong," she said, "shouldn't you be studying?"

"I can't, with all this noise."

"That's all right," replied her friend, turning her head to make sure that her mother wasn't hearing them. "Gu Jun-Pyo is preparing to leave."

"You're being ungrateful again!" exclaimed the boy.

Jan-Di took a deep, calming breath. "I thank you for helping me the other day," she said, gritting her teeth. "But please leave and don't come here anymore. This is my home. Do whatever you want at school, but not here."

"Are my manners inadequate?" he asked, genially.

"Your presence here is."

"In this case, I'll stop coming. But you'll have to meet me somewhere else. How about in Dosan Park?"

Jan-Di was left speechless for a second. So was Ah-Jong while she was moving her eyes from one to the other, as if watching a tennis match.

"No!" her friend exclaimed after regaining her voice.

"Yes, you're right. What do you think of Namsan then? Much more suitable for a first date, don't you think?"

"Ah-Jong, tell this guy that I have no intention to go on a first date with him."

Already feeling a little awkward, Ah-Jong ignored the request and made a small gesture towards Jun-Pyo to indicate to Jan-Di that he was right there. But then she noticed Jun-Pyo looking at her expectantly.

"Oh... Jan-Di says she doesn't want to go on a first date with you," she told him, but an idea made her raise an eyebrow and smile mischievously. "Although she mentioned nothing about a second or a third."

"Ah-Jong!" exclaimed her friend.

"I agree," said Jun-Pyo with a bright smile. "First dates are not my favorite either. Tell her that I'll take her on a second date."

Jan-Di scoffed, but Ah-Jong ignored that. "Jan-Di, Gu Jun-Pyo has a philosophical question for you..."

"Ah-Jong," interrupted her friend, "aren't you supposed to revise history?"

"So you're saying no?" asked the boy.

"Do you really need a confirmation?"

"No. I get it. It means you'd rather have me come here again."

"Yes, come here anytime you like," said Jan-Di's mother, who had just approached them with a plate of cookies.

"Thank you, Mrs. Moon Se-Gyung. I'll definitely come back. I really like your tea shop."

"Thank you! I'm glad, Gu Jun-Pyo. Please, taste my husband's cookies. They are called Princess Ban-Ya's. He invented them, and Ah-Jong here came up with the name. There's a story about them too, but you should hear Ah-Jong tell it." And she went back to the kitchen.

"Really? So you're a prolific creator of stories, Oh Ah-Jong. Let's hear it."

The girl considered it for a minute, then turned to Jun-Pyo, smiling.

"Actually, I created nothing. These are historical cookies. They follow a very old recipe, invented by Princess Ban-Ya."

"So what's their story?"

"Oddly enough, the story is about a prince, who thought that all girls were awestruck whenever he entered a room, and about a princess, who liked him, but didn't know how to confess, so..."

"Ah-Jong!" exclaimed Jan-Di. "Why is this story different every time?"

"What do you mean, different?" asked Jun-Pyo. "Aren't they historical cookies!"

"They **are** historical cookies," replied Ah-Jong seriously. "Don't listen to Jan-Di. History is not her strongest point."

Jun-Pyo chuckled and Jan-Di couldn't help a smile. Ah-Jong noticed how they looked at each other and then quickly looked away. _Hmm..._

"Oh, I've just remembered!" she exclaimed. "I have to be at my mom's to check supplies."

With that, she closed her book and got up. Jan-Di grabbed her hand with a firm grip and forced her back in her chair.

"You're not in charge of supplies anymore," she said, sternly. "You're here to study history, and I will help you."

"So will I," said Jun-Pyo, leaving his seat and taking one near Ah-Jong and across from Jan-Di. "So, what are you studying?"

"World War II," Ah-Jong answered, resigned.

"What do you know about World War II?" asked Jan-Di.

"Pearl Harbor."

"And what do you now about Pearl Harbor?" asked Jun-Pyo.

"Ben Affleck," she immediately answered.

The boy started to laugh, while Jan-Di was trying to hide her own amusement.

"Oh Ah-Jong," she said, wanting to sound severe, "don't answer this guy's questions. Just pretend he's not here."

"You're jealous, Geum Jan-Di," said Jun-Pyo. "That's the only explanation for this behavior."

"This tea cup is more likely to make me jealous."

"So will you meet me tomorrow at Namsan Tower? At three."

"No!"

"Oh Ah-Jong, don't you think she should say yes?"

"There's one other thing I know about World War II," answered Ah-Jong. "Switzerland remained neutral."

"That's because Switzerland didn't have any friends," replied Jan-Di in a threatening tone.

"Let's play a game," said Ah-Jong, taking a filled biscuit.

"Yah!" interjected Jan-Di.

"The two of you will separate the halves of this biscuit," continued Ah-Jong, ignoring her friend. "If the filling sticks to the half that Jan-Di's gets, then she won't date you tomorrow. If it stays on Gu Jun-Pyo's half, you'll go on the date with him," she explained, turning to each of them. "Agreed?"

"Absolutely," said the boy. "I like bets."

"Absolutely not," replied Jan-Di. "I won't date him."

"Always trust the biscuit, Jan-Di," said Ah-Jong.

"You're out of your mind, and I'll not go on any date!"

"But you could win and get rid of him," Ah-Jong pointed out.

However, she had taken care to be unclear about the terms and leave Jun-Pyo space to set the date for another day.

"If I accept this and you lose," Jan-Di told Jun-Pyo after considering it for a moment, "will you stop asking me to date you?"

"The bet is only about tomorrow. Didn't you say so, Oh Ah-Jong?"

Well...

"Huh! You see, Ah-Jong, this guy can't be trusted. I'll accept only if he promises to leave me alone for good."

"I could accept a stake like that," replied Jun-Pyo, "but only if, in case I win, you accept to date me whenever I want, for as long as I want you to."

"No way!" exclaimed Jan-Di.

"Let's start small, shall we?" said Ah-Jong. "We'll make this about tomorrow, and we'll see about other bets later."

Eventually, Jan-Di grudgingly agreed. Lifting the biscuit, Ah-Jong instructed them to put their fingers on either half. As they pulled it apart, she put all her energy into stifling a big grin.

"Argh!"

"Huh! Geum Jan-Di, don't be late tomorrow," said Jun-Pyo with a satisfied smile. "Namsan Tower, three sharp. Let your hair down. I don't like it in this ponytail. And wear a nice, flowery dress."

* * *

The minute Jun-Pyo closed the tea shop door behind him, Jan-Di punched her friend in the shoulder.

"Yah!" laughed Ah-Jong. "It's as much my fault as it is the fault of this biscuit."

"Oh, shut up!" said Jan-Di, flustered. "Now I have to date this jerk!"

"Do you like that?" asked her friend, slyly.

"No!" she blushed. "How can I like dating such a person? You're so silly, Ah-Jong. Stop looking at me like this!"

"Don't you like him at least a little bit?"

"I hate him! He's... handsome and funny..."

"Oh, yes, that's bad..." interrupted Ah-Jong.

"**But**," stressed Jan-Di, tightening her teeth, "he's a jerk. A handsome jerk is as much a jerk as an ugly one."

"But he likes you, so he can't be that bad."

"He doesn't like me! He just wants to make fun of me!"

Her voice got louder, as if this way she could slow the beating of her heart and quiet the agitation that was making her blush. Yet, she knew that such behavior made Ah-Jong even more suspicious. And she hated her friend's interpretation. She didn't like Gu Jun-Pyo! She was furious for having to date him!

"Nevertheless, you must go," said Ah-Jong. "Always trust the biscuit. The biscuit knows."

"Oh, shut up!"


	7. Chapter 7 First Date

"You're doing what?!" asked Ji-Hoo, sitting up on his bed and gripping his phone tighter.

"You know we must keep enemies closer," replied Jun-Pyo's voice. "You should have seen her face when I asked her to date me tomorrow," he continued, laughing.

"So you asked her out to make fun of her."

"Of course! Why else?"

Ji-Hoo grinned.

"That's something only you can tell."

"Ji-Hoo, don't suspect me of anything. Do you have any new ideas for her? You don't. Neither do I. So I got her on a date to see what else we can do with her."

"Ok, Jun-Pyo. That's an excellent strategy."

"I'm glad you agree. So please, tell Hae-Min I'm really sorry I won't see her showcase. I'll send her the nicest flowers."

"Oh, she'll understand. I'll explain the whole situation."

"What... what will you explain, exactly?"

"That you're chasing a girl," answered Ji-Hoo, trying not to laugh.

"Yah! It's not chasing! It's strategy!"

"Ok, I get it. So what are you planning to do to her?"

"I don't know yet. I'll make it up as I go."

"Where are you meeting her?"

"Namsan Tower. Why?"

"Oh..." made Ji-Hoo, faking a disappointed tone and remaining silent for a couple of seconds. "Just asking."

"What? What is it?" asked his friend, sounding worried. "Is it too cliché? Do you think she won't like it?"

Ji-Hoo didn't have to pretend that he hesitated. He actually had to stop talking for a moment because he had to bury the amusement in his voice.

"No, I think she will," he eventually answered with voice that was a bit too high pitched.

Jun-Pyo misinterpreted it. "You don't think she'll like it."

"Most girls like Namsan Tower."

"But Geum Jan-Di isn't like most girls! She's... She's..."

"Special?" suggested Ji-Hoo with a sly voice.

"Ye... Yah! She's not special! She's just more fun to make fun of. That's all!"

* * *

The next day, at three thirty, Jan-Di reached the Namsan tower.

"Oh, am I late?" she asked, facing Jun-Pyo's tightened jaw with an innocent smile.

He studied her ponytail and shorts and suddenly grinned, making her start and hold her breath.

"I like how you look with a ponytail. And I'm glad you put shorts on. I don't like flowery dresses."

"Tch!" she made, frowning.

The boy was wearing a simple t-shirt and blue jeans and looked perfect. Sensing that she was about to blush, Jan-Di turned and started to walk carelessly towards the park.

"Don't you want to see the panorama first?" asked Jun-Pyo, joining her.

"No, I don't. I've seen it before."

"Then do you want to go to a movie?"

"No."

"Do you want to walk around the park and just talk?"

"No, I don't want to talk."

"Do you want to just walk around the park in silence?"

"Yes, that would be great."

"Perfect! Walking in comfortable silence is what couples do when they have a really good relationship."

"We're not a couple!" exclaimed the girl. "You've won me in a biscuit bet."

"That's beside the point."

"How is it beside the point?"

"I've won you, that's the point."

"You didn't win me at all. You only won this date."

"You said that I've won you. Do you think you can take it back so easily?"

Jan-Di stopped and turned to look at him with a frown.

"Do you want to hang a love lock in the padlock trees?" he said with a smile, motioning towards the structures near the tower.

"No, I don't."

"Then let's just look at the messages," he said, taking her hand and dragging her along.

"Yah! Gu Jun-Pyo, let me go," she struggled unconvincingly, but he held her tightly and only stopped in front of the closest tree.

"Aren't they lovely?" he asked, amused.

She jerked her hand again and freed it from his grip.

"Since when are you a romantic, Gu Jun-Pyo?"

"I've always had a soft, romantic heart."

Sniggering, Jan-Di touched one of the love locks, not knowing what else to do with her hands.

"Look at this one," the boy said. "_'In two years I never had a good date. I need one, ok?'_"

Jan-Di couldn't stop herself from chuckling.

"Not much love there," she said, reaching for another message. "But your romantic heart, wherever it is, will be touched by this one: _'Locked together forever: two hearts, two heads, two mouths.'_"

"And four eyes, let's not forget those," added Jun-Pyo, making her smile again. "I found a good one. _'Our hearts will belong to each other even when our teeth will have long deserted us.'_"

"I can picture it," she said, laughing.

After a few more minutes of having fun with the love locks, Jun-Pyo dragged her to the tower, where he wanted to have tea at the fourth observation deck. They sat down near the glass wall, and Jan-Di took in the beautiful view, secretly happy to find herself there, but trying to look indifferent.

"Do you bring all your dates here?" she asked Jun-Pyo.

"Only those I win at biscuit bets."

"Hmm..." hummed Jan-Di, giving him a sideways glance.

"Don't you like it here?"

"Oh, yes, I do. It's nice enough."

"Nice enough?" laughed the boy. "You're difficult to please, Cranky Princess."

"Fine! I like it. The view is beautiful. But how about you? Is it stunning, or awesome, or what other level on your scale?"

"It's not bad," he said with a smile.

"The same as our tea shop! I guess I should be flattered."

"Oh, I rarely give this grade to a place."

"Is that because you only go to the awesome and stunning ones?"

"You're starting to know me."

"Tch!" and she turned her eyes to the menu.

"Let me order for you. I'll get you a tea that tells about your hidden personality. I've learned from your friend."

"If it's hidden, how will you know what to order?"

"You're right! The **tea** has to choose **you**."

He closed his menu and took hers from her hand. When the waiter came, he ordered a cup of each of the teas they were serving.

"Now we'll see who you really are," he said, looking her in the eyes with a sly grin.

Jan-Di couldn't help but smile too and bowed her head, embarrassed. The jerk was handsome and funny and joked with her as if he had never almost got her expelled. Worse than this, there was some silly part of her that really enjoyed his company. But she was certain this was another trick, and she had to get a hold of herself and pay attention not to fall for it.

When she looked up again, he was watching her with an amused smile. Imagining him to have fun with her embarrassment, she felt even more flustered and averted her eyes again.

"Do you play tennis, Geum Jan-Di?" he asked, out of nowhere.

"No, I don't. But I had to defend some heavy topspin."

He chuckled. "And you were pretty good. You have natural talent. I should teach you how to play."

"Play what, exactly?" she asked, suspicions of his double-talk.

"Tennis, of course."

"Why?"

"So that we can play together."

"I don't want to play tennis with you."

"Tch! You really are a cranky one. Do you have any idea how many girls would like to be in your place right now?"

"Throngs, I'm sure."

"That's right, throngs."

"Then why didn't you go out with one of them instead of me?"

"I wanted to see what it felt like to go out with a poor, ugly, uneducated girl. It's a social experiment."

"And what's your conclusion?" Jan-Di asked, trying to act unfazed.

"It's too early for one. I might need a second date."

"What makes you think I'll date you a second time?!"

"Life is full of unpredictability."

"I think this is something we can easily predict."

"What will you do if I get you on a second date?"

"It isn't going to happen."

"But what if it happens? Let's make a bet. If I take you on a second date, then you invite me on a third one."

"Forget it."

"In the middle of the school cafeteria, during lunch time."

"Gu Jun-Pyo, a third date with you would be like voluntarily eating a bucket full of chilly peppers."

"I didn't say I would accept. All I said was that you'd have to ask me."

"There isn't going to be a second date!"

"If you're so sure, then why won't you make the bet?"

"Fine. I'll make the bet. If you somehow manage to get me on a second date within the next two weeks, I'll ask you on a third one."

"In front of everyone, the middle of the cafeteria."

"Yes. But if you fail... Do you know Pil Tae-Hee, from class 2B, who giggles every time she sees you?"

"The one with short hair?"

"Yes. If you fail, you'll have to ask **her **on a date. Also in the middle of the cafeteria, at lunch time."

"Oh, you're mean!" laughed the boy.

"These are my terms."

"Aren't you considering the poor girl's feelings?"

"She likes you, so she'll be happy. Her feelings will be elated."

"What if she gets the wrong idea? She'll start to have false hopes, and she'll suffer. Are you that insensitive?"

"Since when do you care about other people's feelings?"

"I've told you I have a soft heart."

"Hmm... yes, like a fluffy little bunny," muttered the girl. "But you're right. It wouldn't be good for her to date you. Actually, it's not good for any girl. So if you lose, you won't date for a whole year."

"That request reveals your true feelings, Geum Jan-Di."

"What feelings?"

"You're jealous. That's why you don't want me to date other girls."

"You're so full of yourself..."

"All right. I accept," said Jun-Pyo.

Right then, the waiter approached them with a large tray stacked with tea cups. When he started to put them on the table, Jun-Pyo stopped him and asked him to leave them where they were.

"Put this on your eyes," he told Jan-Di, handing her a napkin, rolled as a blindfold.

She smiled and did as she was told, after which she heard Jun-Pyo taking the cups from the tray and placing them on the table in front of her.

"Right," he said, and she heard him pushing his chair back.

"What are you doing? Did you get up?"

"Yes." His voice sounded right next to her, and a moment later, he took her hands in his. "Stop struggling. I'll guide you to where the cups are so you don't burn your fingers. This is the furthest to your left," he continued, stretching her arm and making her touch the saucer of a tea cup, "and this is the furthest to your right. And these are in between," he finished, guiding her hands until they met on a middle saucer.

Although he was only touching her hands, she could feel the warmth of his body, which combined with the low sound of his voice to make the resident ant hill in her stomach go off in a frenzy. As soon as he was done, she pushed him away irritably.

"Ok, now let me choose."

Stretching her arm in a random direction, she took the first cup that she touched, then snatched away the napkin over her eyes.

"Now it's your turn," she added.

He smiled slyly and blindfolded himself. "Don't you want to check how I put this on?"

"No, I trust you."

"Oh, finally!" he exclaimed, ironically. "Then aren't you going to guide my hands?"

"No, I'm not. You know exactly where the cups are. Wait! I'll just mix them up a bit."

After the boy made his choice, they stacked the rest of the cups on one side of the table.

"Don't drink all of it," said Jun-Pyo, as Jan-Di was sipping from her tea. "I have to know what you chose."

And he took the cup.

"Yah! Don't drink from my tea."

"I'm not drinking. I only want to smell it," he replied and then drank.

"Yah! Gu Jun-Pyo, drink your own."

"Mmm,..." he hummed, "oranges. And there's some kind of spice here as well, with a weird flavor."

"And what does it say about me?" asked the girl, raising her eyebrows while receiving her cup back.

"That you're strange and a bit sour."

"How unimaginative, Gu Jun-Pyo."

"I barely started. Like the orange, you have a hard, bitter layer to protect... a secret," he said after thinking for a second, leaning closer to her and almost whispering the last word.

Jan-Di laughed. "There's no secret in oranges. Just little juicy bubbles."

"Well, I like the juicy little bubbles idea too," he replied, grinning and making her scoff, "but no; there is more to this. You're hiding a juicy little secret. What is it, Geum Jan-Di?"

"Isn't the tea revealing anything?"

"Hmm... Let me take another sip," he said, stretching his hand toward the tea.

"No," she said, pulling the cup away. "That's enough prying. You'll have to make the best of what you've already tasted."

"Fine. The secret is..." he took a moment, looking at her with narrowed eyes, "in the spice. Spice is passion. You are passionately in love."

"How is it passion? This isn't even a hot spice. It's just... aromatic."

"Let me taste it again."

"No."

"All right, then. It's your turn. Read my tea," he said, handing his cup to her.

Jan-Di took it, sniffed and sipped.

"It smells like mischief. Not at all surprising."

Taking back the cup, Jun-Pyo turned it and drank from the same place that she had.

"Do you realize that we've just kissed?" he asked with an impish smile.

"What?"

"We kissed indirectly. Through the mediation of this nice tea cup."

"Right," she said, feigning indifference. "Mischief it was."

* * *

In the evening, Jun-Pyo dropped her at off the tea shop, and she immediately texted Ah-Jong: _Done!_ In less than half a minute, her friend called.

"How did it go?"

"Well... it was a regular date."

"So you liked it!" exclaimed Ah-Jong, triumphantly.

"I didn't say I liked it!"

"Yes, you did. So stop protesting and give me details. If you want to, of course."

"We had tea in the Namsan Tower – a **lot** of tea, we talked, then we walked through the park, then we watched a bit from a street performance – he made fun of it, of course – then he took me to a tennis court and taught me a little."

"That sounds fun."

"Well... ok, I did have fun."

"So it wasn't a trick?"

"Who can tell, with this guy? But so far, there was no sign of one."

* * *

For the next days, Ah-Jong wondered whether it had been a good idea to encourage Jan-Di to go to the date with Jun-Pyo. From what her friend had said, she could tell that Jan-Di had liked it rather too much. The fact that she didn't want to talk about it was a sign that she was confused. Perhaps Jun-Pyo's charm had been too much for her, even after everything that he had done.

At school, Jan-Di ate lunch with the four boys a couple of times. On the first of these occasions, she was looking for a table, together with Seo Min-Hee and Ha Ji-Sook because Go Ji-Hyun was away for a few weeks. Her parents had gone on a business trip to London and had taken her with them. The Musketeers had invited the girls to join their table, and Jan-Di's two classmates had been only too happy to oblige.

"The best part of it was Cho-Hee's face when she saw us," chuckled Jan-Di.

"And how did Gu Jun-Pyo behave?" Ah-Jong asked.

"He was relaxed and funny as if nothing happened. Just like the other three."

"He didn't talk about the date?"

"Thankfully, no. That's exactly what I didn't need. Although it was clear that his three accomplices knew about it. They alluded to it."

The second time, the four just invited themselves at the table where Jan-Di was sitting with the other two girls.

"Everybody's looking at me strangely now. Min-Hee and Ji-Sook told me outright that they think Gu Jun-Pyo likes me. They said he actually yelled at Ku Ji-Won the day she made me fall and that's when they started to suspect They seem to find it very romantic. But I know the real reason why Min-Hee likes the whole story. She gets to eat at the same table with So Iy-Jung."

"The one with the dimples."

"Yes. She likes him and doesn't bother to hide it, though he doesn't care about her. She's the girl who spilled juice on him. Remember? How pathetic is that? Anyway, now I get to the main event of today. Kim Se-Yeon will have her birthday party this Saturday. Almost the entire school is going. No, I wasn't invited, so don't make this face. Instead, she came to me and told me that she wants to order cookies from us. What do you think about that?"

"Well... She must have liked uncle's cookies **very** much..." said Ah-Jong without really believing it.

"Maybe... She wants **me** to deliver them. And in order for them to be fresh, she wants them made that very evening and delivered at nine, after they will have the main courses."

"Really?" said Ah-Jong, thoughtfully. "When all the fancy people are gathered together and having a good time I suppose. Does she want to prove something?"

"That's what I thought as well. But never mind. She pays for them and that's good for us. So I'll deliver. I don't care how they'll look at me."

Although this statement seemed determined enough, Ah-Jong thought that her friend didn't feel so good about making the cookie delivery. What Se-Yeon must have wanted was to make a point to both Jan-Di and Jun-Pyo, so she could be expected to prepare some embarrassing moments. Not that the boy didn't know exactly what Jan-Di's social level was. But perhaps it would come out with more force if she were to walk in there as a supplier instead of a guest like all her other schoolmates.

"No, you must stay at the tea shop. You know how it is on Saturdays, and you know that I'm not of much help there. I'll deliver the cookies."

"Ah-Jong, I won't let you take another humiliation for me. Besides, I don't care about them."

"I don't think you need to worry. I'm not her target, so I doubt she'd want to display me like she would do to you."

As Jan-Di was indeed a little nervous about it, Ah-Jong didn't have to insist too much before having her give in. Therefore, on Saturday evening, the girl prepared to make her debut in high society as she preferred to joke about it.

To be honest with herself, Ah-Jong was not as relaxed about the event as she wanted her friend to believe. The stake was not so high for her, but she would be rather embarrassed to meet certain students from Seungcheon again. Though she kept scolding herself for it, she chose her clothes carefully – to look nice, but not studied – put on a hint of make-up, and searched the Internet for an entire half-hour to find the right way to do her hair.

Kim Se-Yeon's family lived in a beautiful two-story house, with a long drive that was now lined with expensive cars. Most of the guests had already arrived, but there were a few late comers that Ah-Jong waited for to get in before she approached the men at the entrance.

She was told to wait, and before long, Se-Yeon came out, wearing a smirk that faded as soon as she saw it wasn't Jan-Di delivering the cookies.

"Good evening," said Ah-Jong, with a polite bow.

"Where is Geum Jan-Di?" asked Se-Yeon, abruptly.

She wore a shimmery purple dress and a pair of chandelier earrings that tangled artistically with strands of her hair. She looked like a princess and was as haughty as one.

After Ah-Jong explained that Jan-Di was unable to ride the bike because of her injured hand, Se-Yeon grudgingly accepted that her plan hadn't worked and ordered one of the men at the entrance to show Ah-Jong how to get to the kitchen.

To her relief, Ah-Jong was guided through an empty hallway, where she didn't have to face any of Se-Yeon's guests.

The house was large and tastefully decorated, showing the wealth of the owners, but with style. Although the daughter was a little unpleasant, Ah-Jong admired her home without restraint. Her parents must have been art lovers because the hallway was lined with beautiful paintings, sculptures, and valuable china. No doubt, everything was very expensive.

The hallway was quiet, with only a subdued sound of music coming from the party. But when she reached the kitchen, the scene changed suddenly into a noisy bustle of cooks and waiters, shouting at each other and hurrying to and fro.

"Please see Manager Pyeon," a girl told her. "He's over there, the one that shouts the loudest."

"Great, you brought the cookies," said Manager Pyeon when she finally reached him after carefully slipping through the agitated group of cooks and assistants. "Please take them to Assistant Jo. She's over there, the one that gestures the widest."

Making her way again with difficulty, trying not to topple anything or get hit by anyone, she got to Assistant Jo and was at last relieved of her load.

"Good bye! Thank you!" Ah-Jong told her, bowing, then struggled out.

Almost suddenly, all was quiet again. Relieved, she walked slowly on the way to the main door, now able to take more time to see that part of the house. It was a really nice place, and she found herself wondering how it must have felt to live here. _It's likely the owners don't notice it anymore. They're too used to it._

The sound of tango was coming from the direction of the party, and she smiled wistfully. The last time she had danced tango was more than six months ago. After she had been rejected from Siwonhan, she had stopped taking lessons. Hearing it play, she suddenly felt she missed it.

As she was scanning the art works, her eyes were caught by a painting that looked somewhat familiar, so she went closer and stopped to study it. She couldn't remember where she had seen it, but as she was straining her memory, she realized that it wasn't this particular paining that she had recognized.

_It's the style! Mom's style!_

It was strange, but here were Choi Sun-Hee's bright colors and sharp outlines and her way of throwing objects with hidden meanings all over the canvas.

Soon, Ah-Jong spotted a bird, a mockingbird with finely painted white lines at the edge of its wing feathers. Her surprise increased as she was reminded of another picture that used to hang on the living room wall of her home.

The canvas was large and showing some sort of strange galaxy, with planets against a starry sky. The bird was close to the lower left corner, trying to fly to a planet placed right in the middle, but a chain was holding it tied to a stand. It was a golden chain, decorated with colorful gems that contrasted with the gray plumage. It had a large lock on it, with a peculiar shape of the keyhole.

The planet where the bird tried to fly had a king's scepter sticking from its surface and what looked like a silk scarf winding around it. There were several other planets, with all kinds of objects on their orbits: books, a quill pen, flowers, a splash of paint, other birds. One of them was a bird of paradise, black with a green crown and breast shield and carrying a key in its beak. There was also a pair of swallows.

The picture had completely engrossed her. In spite of the bright colors, the chained bird that couldn't reach the beautiful universe gave Ah-Jong a sad feeling. And the resemblance to her mother's style, and especially her mother's mockingbird, was so unnerving that she felt her heart beat faster.

"How refreshing," said a cold, ironic voice.

She started and turned around quickly. Kang Ji-Hoo was standing not far from her, with his hands in the pockets, looking more handsome than ever in his suit and bow tie.

"Most people stop to look at the Dali," continued the boy, "but you chose the cheapest piece in the house."

"Oh, I..." Still focused on the picture, she wondered if he knew anything about it. "This is an... interesting painting. Do you know who made it?"

"I have no idea," he flatly replied.

Of course, she realized, he was the last person who would chat with her about it. Embarrassed by his gaze, she started to turn her eyes around the hallway aimlessly.

"Right..." she eventually said, bowing her head. "Well, I'll..."

"Does Se-Yeon know that you're wandering around the house like this?" he snapped, making her start.

"I was on my way out. Good bye!" she said, with a slight bow, then left with quick steps without looking at him anymore, trying to calm herself down.

Was it the painting, or was it Ji-Hoo that agitated her like that? He was definitely annoying. _What's with the ice-cold stare all the time? Does he think he'd fall off his pedestal if he were a bit friendlier?_

Anyway, that painting was definitely strange. So colorful and gay, like a big universe full of all kinds of joy, yet it left her sad with its chained bird that didn't seem to belong there.

She climbed on her bike and sped off, determined not to let herself affected by that boy again. Instead she focused on the picture. Could it be that her mother had sold it to this family? _She never told me that she sold any of her work. I'll just ask her. It would be nice if a rich family bought mom's paintings."_

Sensing that the thought of Kang Ji-Hoo was still nagging her, she tried to focus even harder, considering different meanings of the picture.

The mockingbird could be a commoner who wanted to enter higher society but was held back by his or her origin. The planets had several symbols of wealth and high education around them. There were also beautiful birds around, contrasting with the gray little one that struggled outside their world. Probably the painter was this commoner.

There could be other meanings as well, and her story-loving mind started to create alternatives. Maybe the bird was a plain girl, in love with a guy that she couldn't have. The planet in the middle, with the scepter, represented him – the prince of her heart. All the other planets could be part of his world; he could be an artist. And the bird of paradise could be the girl that he loved. But why was there a key in its beak? If it was the key to the lock on the mockingbird's chain, then maybe the bird of paradise was a friend who could help out.

No matter what story she concocted, it was always about somebody who was left out of a beautiful world that didn't give two straws about her. A little like Ah-Jong herself, when she was around Jun-Pyo's friends . Although, unlike the bird, she didn't care about these bling-bling people who were rejecting her. She had her own universe, which she loved.

At this thought, Ji-Hoo's cold eyes popped into her head again, and to push the image back, she started to think up a plan to find out who's painting that was. The first step was to ask her mother. However, a after minutes went by, the idea started to seem silly. When could her mother feel like that gray bird?


	8. Chapter 8 Treacherous Ally

The following week was relatively quiet for Jan-Di, unless she counted the occasional approaches from Jun-Pyo. They annoyed her and she couldn't help wishing for them at the same time.

"Jan-Di," he said one day, suddenly appearing beside her while she was taking her books out of the locker, "we'll go to the beach on Saturday. Do you want to come?"

"Gu Jun-Pyo, is that an invitation to date you again?" she smiled.

"What a suspecting girl! Why would you think that?"

"Because our bet expires this weekend."

"It's just a day at the beach, with the guys."

"Maybe some other time, Gu Jun-Pyo. During your one-year date break."

At lunch, Ji-Hoo joined her and talked about the day at the beach again.

"Come on, Geum Jan-Di. Why won't you date Jun-Pyo? If not for him, do it for us. If you refuse, he'll be grumpy the entire day and ruin the fun."

"I'm sorry to do this to you. Please comfort him as well as you can."

The next day, Woo-Bin brought up the same subject, and again she refused. It was irritating to realize that she was actually tempted by the idea, but only the thought of having to publicly ask Jun-Pyo on a date was making her insides squirm.

"Did I hear right," asked Min-Hee at lunch, "that Gu Jun-Pyo asked you on a date and you refused?"

"Yes. Do you think I should have accepted?"

"What did she just ask me?" said Min-Hee, turning to Ji-Sook.

"Jan-Di," Ji-Sook took over, "let me give you the full picture of it. Gu Jun-Pyo is the most wanted guy in this school."

"The second most wanted," interrupted Min-Hee.

"Ok, the second after So Iy-Jung. Coming back to the subject, Gu Jun-Pyo, a rich, handsome, smart, charming guy, whom any girl would be happy to date, asked you out. And you refused?"

"Yes, I did. He's the second most wanted, anyway. Not that impressive."

Both girls chuckled.

"Not impressive!"

"No one has even proven that he's the second," said Ji-Sook.

"Yes, he could be the third for all we know," joked Jan-Di.

"If I think about it better, this is a good thing," stated Min-Hee. "Let him fry a little."

"Yes, not bad," confirmed Ji-Sook. "Let him realize the full force of his feelings for you."

"He doesn't have feelings for me!"

"I have an idea," said Min-Hee, brightening up. "This Saturday I'm going on a date. And my date wants to double date. He has a friend who's just come to Seoul and doesn't know anybody. So he asked if he could bring him and if I could bring a friend. Do you want to come? It'll be fun and it'll make Gu Jun-Pyo jealous."

"Why me?" asked Jan-Di, taken aback. "Ji-Sook, don't you want to go?"

"I would, but I'm leaving town this weekend. It's a good idea, Jan-Di. Blind dates are fun."

"That depends on the date," Jan-Di pointed out.

"My friend says that his friend is a nice guy, but he's a bit of a book worm. He needs to get out of the house and talk to a girl for a change."

That seemed pretty harmless to Jan-Di, and this guy could prove interesting if he liked books.

"But I have to help my mother at the tea shop on Saturdays."

"We'll meet in the morning, and you can go back in the afternoon. The tea shop is not really full by then, is it?"

"Well, yes... Still, I think you should find somebody else, Min-Hee. But thank you for thinking of me!"

Min-Hee pouted and gave in. "Ok... I'll try. It would have been fun though. They plan to take us to Dreamland."

However, on Friday Min-Hee repeated the request, saying that she hadn't found another girl and that she really wanted that boy to have a nice day out.

"The only girl that I can ask is a cousin of mine, but I don't really like her. All the fun will be ruined if I bring her along. And we can't go as a threesome. That would be awful! Please, Jan-Di, accept!"

Since the thought of going to Dreamland was tempting, and Jun-Pyo's pressure had increased, and she wanted to be able to tell him that she had other plans, Jan-Di conceded at last. After that, she became rather inpatient for the next day, which she anticipated with increasing pleasure.

On Saturday morning, she started to smile as soon as she woke up. Dreamland! Ok, she wasn't a child anymore, but the thrill of the amusement park hadn't lost its strength. Not to mention that, as a child, she had only been there once. When she was a little girl, her parents' business was at its beginning, and they had little money to spare. Then, she had been increasingly busy with school, and later, her parents had started to save for Seungcheon. Now she could finally go there again.

Besides, Min-Hee was nice. Jan-Di liked to spend time with her. Although two boys that she didn't know would be there, and she was a little shy of strangers, she assumed that the book worm would turn out to be a little like her, so they should get along fine.

"Jun-Pyo can have his day at the beach. I don't care," she told her reflection in the bathroom mirror in a determined voice.

At nine, Min-Hee's car was at the door, and Jan-Di hurried to get in.

"Hi, Jan-Di. Ready for a life changing experience?"

"Yes, I am!" she answered, grinning. "I haven't been to Dreamland since I was a little girl."

"You haven't?! In this case I'm glad you accepted to come."

"Oh, so am I. I'm really grateful!"

"Well," smiled Min-Hee, "I'm happy to hear that. Who knows when I'll need something in return?" she added, in a playful voice.

They were going to meet the boys at the park, so they had time for a long chat between girls before getting there. That was good because Jan-Di liked her schoolmate's company, but also a little troublesome because Min-Hee was curious to talk about Jun-Pyo.

"I know that Gu Jun-Pyo can be the devil himself, and I know that you were almost expelled because of him. But these are hardly strong enough reasons for rejecting him."

Jan-Di laughed, knowing that Min-Hee liked to play with this kind of nonsense.

"So what you're saying is that, if he asked **you** out, you'd accept."

"Of course! Immediately."

"And how about your date from today?"

"It wouldn't hurt him to be a little bit jealous. At least I hope he would be."

"Why do you think he wouldn't?!" asked Jan-Di, a little surprised.

"Well... you'll see him today, and you can give me your opinion."

"And how about So Iy-Jung? I thought it was him you liked."

"Yes, he's my absolute favorite."

Having diverted Min-Hee's attention from Jun-Pyo, they kept talking about Iy-Jung and then about other subjects until they got to the park.

"They seem to be late," said Jan-Di after they had reached the meeting spot.

"We're right here," said a voice behind them, making them turn around.

For a second Jan-Di was confused. What was he doing here?

"So Iy-Jung! What..."

And then she saw him. She started, she was confused, she blushed at the realization that she had been tricked.

"Jan-Di," said Min-Hee with a whiny voice, taking Iy-Jung's arm, "I know that I'm a totally corrupt and unworthy friend."

Jan-Di said nothing and continued to stare at Jun-Pyo, who stood in front of her with a wide smile on his face.

"This is not a date!" she blurted out, turning around to leave.

"Too late, Geum Jan-Di," said Jun-Pyo, following her. "By all standards, this is a date. Even if you're leaving in the middle of it. By the way, where are you going?" he asked, standing in her way.

"I'm going home," she answered, trying to sidestep him.

"How?"

"By bus! That's a method you can't imagine, I'm sure."

"Too late, didn't I say so?" he replied, still not allowing her to go. "Come on, be a good loser. A blind date is still a date. Even if you leave, I won."

She stopped trying to get away, and he smiled. "Come on. Let's have some fun. You'll have to publicly ask me out anyway."

"No, I don't. You cheated, so it doesn't count."

"How did I cheat? I said I'd get you on a date and I did. This was the only rule. And how about you? I could say that **you're** the cheater."

"How do you figure that?!"

"You made the bet knowing that you'd give me no chance. You weren't exactly fair. I was forced to use some tricks here."

She hesitated. There was some truth in that. Or at least he had managed to make her see things his way, which she wasn't sure whether it was manipulation or fair game. Her heart was beating fast from the anticipated embarrassment. He **had** prepared a trick, after all! She would have to ask him on a date if she was to play fairly, and she would humiliate herself in front of all her schoolmates. _Oh, how could I let myself fooled like this?!_

"Geum Jan-Di," said Iy-Jung, who had joined them together with Min-Hee, "let's have the ultimate fun today. So great that it'll make up for anything this punk has done to you. Or will do, for that matter," he added, grinning.

"Please, Jan-Di!" said Min-Hee. "You really wanted to come to Dreamland and here we are! Please forgive me and don't leave me alone with these guys!" she added, with more than a hint of panic in her voice.

"Why not?" asked Jan-Di, softened but wanting to tease her friend a little. "You'd spend the day with the most wanted and the second most wanted guys at Seungcheon."

"I know!" answered the girl. "I can't handle something like that. I need a partner."

"Really? Am I the most wanted guy at Seungcheon?" asked Jun-Pyo.

"She must have meant me," replied Iy-Jung. "You're the second most wanted."

"How do you know?"

"Isn't that so?" asked Iy-Jung, turning to the girls.

Looking at each other, Jan-Di and Min-Hee smiled.

Ok, she had to give in. To tell the truth, she had lost the bet, and the best she could do was have fun today and let tomorrow take care of itself. Min-Hee took her arm, and they headed for the roller coasters without looking back to see if the boys were following.

* * *

On Saturday mornings, Ah-Jong had gotten the habit of going to either her mother's school or The Spring Dreams in order to study. In both these places, she could find somebody able and willing to guide her. Besides, she had noticed that she focused better when someone else was around and working on something.

Therefore, while her friend was blind dating, Ah-Jong went to Raw Imagination and asked to be allowed to study in her mother's office. However, this time she had an ulterior motive for being there. She knew that Sun-Hee would have two piano students later, and she wanted to take advantage and search through her paintings.

Over the past days, she hadn't given much thought to the picture in Se-Yeon's house. After the excitement of seeing its resemblance to her mother's, she had realized that there couldn't be any real connection. After all, Sun-Hee's paintings weren't that unique, and they weren't all the same when it came to style. Still, this morning she had thought that taking a look wouldn't hurt.

As soon as she saw her mother busy with the two pupils, she went to the storage room where most of the drawings were kept when they weren't hanging on the walls of their house or of the art school.

It took her less than ten minutes to find it. Several years ago, when Ah-Jong was eight or nine, this painting had been in their house, on the living room wall. It pictured two mockingbirds, sitting on a bare rock, basking in the sunlight. One was light and dark gray, but the other had carefully drawn white endings on its wing feathers. She recalled asking her mother what the birds were doing there, and Sun-Hee had answered that they were enjoying each other's company on a sunny spring day.

Seeing them again, the resemblance of the gray and white one with the other mockingbird, sad and chained, struck her once more. They were very similar, except this one was happy and comfortable. The gentle sun warming it, the little bird was nesting in the wing of the other, slightly larger one. A few small flowers surrounded them, and a young tree branch hung over their heads, creating a thin shadow on their rock.

"This rock is their home," Sun-Hee had explained. "It's not much, but it's a good place. It's warm from the sun."

"But what happens in the winter?" Ah-Jong had asked.

"In the winter, they warm each other."

Smiling, Ah-Jong recalled how much she had liked this painting when she was a child. Looking at it, she realized that, although the birds were so much like one another and the pictures were done with the same bright colors and clear lines that her mother preferred, similarities ended here. This one was a happy painting of a simple little world. The other showed an entire universe but talked to her about sadness and loneliness. It couldn't have been made by Sun-Hee.

After putting everything back to where it had been, Ah-Jong returned to her books until it was time for the painting course.

* * *

Feeling herself blush over and over again, Jan-Di took a deep breath. The cafeteria was full, and the Four Musketeers were sitting at a table by themselves. Nearby, there were none other than Han Cho-Hee, Ku Ji-Won, Kim Se-Yeon and Sang Yoo-Bi. It couldn't be better...

With her heart throbbing so hard that she couldn't even hear the sounds of that noisy place, Jan-Di headed for Jun-Pyo. _I might as well get it over with,_ she thought, making her way faster until she was right beside the boy.

"Gu Jun-Pyo!" she called, a little louder that she had intended.

The boy glanced at her and then turned to his three friends with a smile.

"Yes, Geum Jan-Di?" he said, without looking at her.

Just as she was fearing, she had attracted the attention of the four girls at the nearby table and also of other students, who were all watching her with curiosity.

"Do you have anything to say?" asked Jun-Pyo, turning back to her with raised eyebrows as she wasn't saying anything.

"Would you go on a date with me?" she mumbled.

"What? I didn't hear you."

"Would you go on a date with me?" she asked a little louder, and snorts sounded all around her.

The other three Musketeers were looking away from her and grinning, and she heard Se-Yeon's voice asking her friends what Jan-Di had said.

"She asked Jun-Pyo on a date," was the half-whispered answer, and they all started to chuckle.

"I still didn't hear you, Geum Jan-Di," said Jun-Pyo, barely holding back a grin. "You'll have to talk louder than this."

"WHOULD YOU GO ON A BLOODY DATE WITH ME?" shouted the girl, infuriated by the embarrassment.

The cafeteria burst into murmurs and chuckles. Everyone had their heads turned to the scene, sensing even more good entertainment coming up.

"Since you ask me so gracefully, I accept" answered Jun-Pyo, smiling widely.

"What?!" Certain that she would be refused and humiliated, Jan-Di was unable to think of anything more intelligent than that.

"How can I refuse such a sweet invitation? When?"

"?"

"Ok, I know. It has to be on Sunday. I'll pick you up at twelve, from The Spring Dreams."

Dumbstruck, Jan-Di was too afraid that she'd either say or do something completely stupid, so she just spun around and left. Avoiding to look at any of the faces that were turned to her, she went straight to the table where Min-Hee and Ji-Sook were waiting for her with open mouths.

"That was brilliant Jan-Di!" exclaimed Min-Hee. "Do you think I should bellow an invitation like that to Iy-Jung?"

"Oh, shut up, Min-Hee!" she muttered, too embarrassed to look anywhere except at the table. "This is all your fault."

"I know... and I'm sorry and very ashamed to be such a weak, miserable con artist. But he accepted, right?"

"Yes, he did. But I don't know why, and I don't want to see his face ever again!"

"He likes you. That's why he accepted."

"No, he doesn't!"

"You don't realize how many people see you as a hero," intervened Ji-Sook. "You resisted their attacks, and now one of them started to like you."

"He doesn't like me!" hissed Jan-Di. "He's a jerk. I hate him! If I see him at the tea shop again, I'll give him something that will make his stomach turn for an entire week."

"You serve really strange things at your tea shop!" exclaimed Min-Hee.

Jan-Di gave her an ugly look, but the girl couldn't refrain from smiling.

"Jan-Di, please forgive me! But Jun-Pyo is really fun and he's a nice guy. When he isn't an arrogant bastard," she added, doubtfully. "Anyway, you enjoy his company. Admit it."

That was the worst thing in this messed up story. She had to admit that she really did like his company. The day at Dreamland had been more fun than anything she could remember. _Oh, annoying brat!_

All the excitement had made her hungry, but she hadn't brought her lunch box with her, and going back through the entire length of the cafeteria was completely out of the question. Perfectly understanding that, her friends shared their food with her, and all through the break, they sheltered her from the curious students who were trying to approach.

* * *

The next day, Jun-Pyo intercepted her by her locker. The other students were in the study room, which she had left early in order to get back to the tea shop.

"Jan-Di, what are you doing? You ask me out and then completely ignore me?"

"Who said you could call me by my first name?"

"Of course I can. We've already gone on two dates and we'll go on a third. We're at that stage in our relationship when I can call you by your first name. And you should call me Jun-Pyo."

"Our relationship is nonexistent, **Gu Jun-Pyo**. And I won't go on any other date with you," she retorted trying to confront him with her eyes at first, but then looking down, embarrassed.

"Are you still upset?" he said with a chuckle and a gentle voice, putting his hands on her cheeks and lifting her head.

His warmth made the ants in her stomach stir again. She pushed him away angrily and opened the door of her locker. The boy snapped it shut, making her start.

"Well you can't back down now," he said, in a good mood. "You asked me out in front of everyone, and I said yes. So we'll go on the bloody date."

"Gu Jun-Pyo! I have to go to the tea shop. My parents are waiting for me."

"I'll take you."

And he opened the locker, threw her books in, grabbed her hand, and dragged her along the empty hallway.

"Let go of me!" she shouted, running to keep pace with his long steps.

"Didn't you say that you had to be at the tea shop?" he asked without slowing down. "I'll take you there quickly and safely, by car. You could have an accident on that bike of yours. I've seen how you ride. That speed is dangerous."

"I've been riding a bike since I was five. I'm more likely to have an accident on this hallway, with you pulling at me like this."

She tried to yank her hand out of his, but he held her firmly.

"Stop resisting, or else I'll pick you up on my shoulder."

Fearing that he might actually do it, she went along, still struggling but with less conviction.

On the way out, they recovered her bike, and he pushed it to his car while holding her tightly with his other hand. He opened the door for her and made her get in, joining her immediately. She quickly made room, drawing herself as far from him as possible.

"Stop with the self-satisfied smile," she muttered, after having glanced at him a few times as the car was making its way through the traffic.

"It's not self-satisfied. It's pleased."

"What are you so pleased about?"

"I get to have another nice conversation with you," he replied, genially.

Unable to refrain from smiling, she turned to the window to hide it.

"I can see your reflection in the window," Jun-Pyo pointed out.

No matter how much she tried, she couldn't pull the corners of her lips down, so she gave up. A short glance at him was all she dared, then she looked down self-consciously.

"Do you want to stop for an ice cream?" asked Jun-Pyo.

"No, I can't. I have to be at The Spring Dreams. Soon it will be too full for my mom to handle it by herself."

"How's your hand? Can you carry the trays with it?"

"Oh, it's much better," she said, rolling her wrist. "I can ride the bike, as you saw."

"Yes, I've seen you. Anyway, I'm glad that you weren't able to deliver the cookies last week. You wouldn't have liked being there in that position. But next time, you'll go as my date."

"Who said I wanted to date you a fourth time?"

"Does this question mean that our third date is still on?"

"Well... I guess I can't avoid it now, can I?"

"No, you can't. If you do, the next thing you'll find in your locker will be a baby rhinoceros. And we'll see what history project you can make out of it."

"You've got such nerve," muttered Jan-Di. "Where will you find a baby rhinoceros, anyway?"

"I'm a pretty connected guy. By the way, how is Jukebox? I'd forgotten about it."

"We gave it away. It was becoming addicted to black tea."


	9. Chapter 9 One More Step

**A/N Thank you for your lovely reviews :). They really keep me going on with the story. There is so much more of it... **

* * *

On Sunday morning, Ah-Jong met Jan-Di at The Spring Dreams. She had agreed to keep the tea shop open for a couple of hours while both of the owners and their daughter were out. Today, her friend was going to date Jun-Pyo again, while her parents were shopping for a major stock renewal. The place wasn't going to be crowded until later, so Ah-Jong hoped that she could manage reasonably well by herself.

Still annoyed with her date, Jan-Di had put on a flowery dress and had let her hair down, knowing that he preferred her in shorts and with a ponytail. When she saw her, Ah-Jong raised an eyebrow, clearly doubting this explanation. Jan-Di looked more than usually pretty today, completely contradicting the claim that she had attempted the opposite.

"I just love your strategy," Ah-Jong commented. "It's going to be a bullseye."

"Yah! Stop smiling. He told me that he doesn't like flowery dresses."

"What if bad luck has it that he likes your look?"

"I don't care if he does. I don't care what he thinks about me."

"Oh... ok." She had a hard time keeping a serious face.

"Don't look at me like this! I mean it! I hate him!"

"Be careful, Jan-Di," said Ah-Jong, letting out a short laugh. "I'm going to start feeling fond of Gu Jun-Pyo out of compassion for his unrequited love."

"What... Love?!" started Jan-Di, making a shocked face. "What love? He doesn't need your compassion because there's no love involved."

"If he's as smart as he's good looking, he **should** like you..."

"He can't like me. He was so kind as to tell me that I'm poor, ugly and uneducated."

"When did he tell you that?!"

"On our first date."

"Then why does he keep dating you?"

"He says it's a social experiment."

"Huh! Social experiment..." scoffed Ah-Jong. "When he sees you looking like this, he'll turn it into a permanent project."

"Yah! He's used to girls that look like princesses and wear only clothes made by famous European designers. And I don't care! I'll go out with him today, and then I'll never see him again."

"You go to the same school," Ah-Jong pointed out.

"Well... yes... I meant metaphorically. I won't look at him or speak to him again. But let's stop talking about that guy. Why would you defend him, anyway. He called you King Julien, remember?"

"That's between me and him. Stay out of it."

"Ah-Jong, sometimes I think you really are out of your mind. You hang out with Lee Woo-Bin, you invite them for tea, you get me to go on dates with that... that... tall... guy... They're the enemy, remember? Besides, I don't like him. I don't get why all those girls are so crazy about him."

"I couldn't say," replied Ah-Jong, as several reasons flew through her mind. "You know him better. What could have fooled them like that?"

"It's just that all they see is a handsome and smart and funny guy. Ok, I admit he is, a little bit. But they can't see beyond it! He can fool a girl just like that, being cool and making jokes and smiling that smile of his. But he's an arrogant bastard who likes to tease people all the time!"

And she kept talking about Jun-Pyo while Ah-Jong walked back and forth taking care of the occasional customer.

It wasn't noon yet when a shiny blue convertible stopped in front of the tea shop. Jan-Di looked at it with indifference and turned back to Ah-Jong. She must have been really absorbed by her thoughts of the boy if she wasn't curious why a **shiny blue convertible,** which definitely didn't belong in their neighborhood, was right there, outside The Spring Dreams!

Ah-Jong, on the other hand, got up and watched it carefully, already suspecting whom it contained.

Sure enough, a minute later, Gu Jun-Pyo entered together with a beautiful girl that looked slightly older than their age. She was simply dressed, in a t-shirt and blue jeans, but her clothes were obviously of the best quality, her hair looked perfect but natural, and her elegant appearance and walk showed that she was away from her neighborhood right now.

When she saw the couple, Jan-Di's face dropped, and she remained in her seat, not knowing where to look and what to do, her face turning red.

Jun-Pyo's grinned when he noticed her and headed straight to the table where she was sitting.

"Jan-Di, what are you doing pinned to that chair? Are you ready?"

She stood up quickly, almost knocking the chair down. After studying her, Jun-Pyo flashed an impish smile.

"You finally listened and put on a flowery dress."

Even though the presence of the other girl was still unexplained, Ah-Jong felt at ease after seeing the boy's face and hearing him speak. Unable to hold back a smile, she looked at Jan-Di to see her reaction, but there was too much agitation in that quarter for either a laugh or a scowl. The third girl was watching the scene, looking mildly amused.

"Noona, this is Geum Jan-Di, and this is her friend, Oh Ah-Jong," continued Jun-Pyo. "Please meet my sister, Gu Jun-Hee."

While Jan-Di's expression turned to relief, the girl introduced herself with an friendly smile.

"I'm Gu Jun-Hee. Jun-Pyo told me of how charming your tea shop was, and I've decided to drive him here and try it."

After saying this quite politely, her smile widened and her eyes glittered with the same roguish expression that Ah-Jong had often seen in her brother.

"Though I must admit," Jun-Hee continued, "it was actually an excuse to meet you, Geum Jan-Di. My brother told me a lot of things about you."

"Oh!" exclaimed Jan-Di. "I'm very happy to meet you. He... what did Jun... Gu Jun-Pyo say about me?

"In short, that I will like you."

"Oh!..." She dared a side glance at the boy. "I'm happy to make your acquaintance," she blurted out, blushing.

It was impossible for Ah-Jong to suppress her smile, so she bowed to Jun-Hee and introduced herself, trying to pass amusement for politeness. She shouldn't have bothered. Jan-Di was in such a state, that she couldn't notice anything that was going on around her.

Barely masking her agitation, Jan-Di offered Jun-Hee something to drink, and without waiting for her response, she darted towards the kitchen, looking as if she wanted nothing more than to hide in there.

Jun-Pyo caught her by the wrist. "I wish there was more time to chat," he said, smiling congenially. "But we can't stay any longer. Noona, you don't mind, do you? My girlfriend and I have to leave you now."

"What?!" said Jan-Di, looking at him as if he had grown a second head. "What... What girlfriend?!"

"Let's go," said Jun-Pyo, starting to drag her toward the door. "Noona, try the Cranky Princess tea. Oh Ah-Jong, I'll leave my sister in your hands."

With that, he pulled a confused Jan-Di out, leaving the other two girls standing in silent wonder.

"She seemed surprised to hear she was his girlfriend," said Jun-Hee, staring after them.

"Yes," said Ah-Jong with a similar expression on her face. "Maybe they don't tell each other everything yet."

Jun-Hee chuckled pleasantly and turned to face her. "Oh Ah-Jong, I'd love to try the Cranky Princess if you'd join me."

Already liking Jun-Pyo's sister even though she made her feel a bit shy, Ah-Jong readily agreed, and soon they were sitting with cups of tea and a plate of cookies in front of them. For the next hour, the tea shop was visited only by a few customers, so their conversation was barely interrupted.

"You and Geum Jan-Di seem very close," observed Jun-Hee. "Since when have you been friends?"

"Ever since middle school, when we became classmates. She defended me against a boy who was bullying me. One day, Jan-Di and another friend made such fun of him, that he stopped and never talked to me again. And that's when we started to be friends."

"So she was fearless even then. Jun-Pyo told me that she's not somebody to be taken lightly," said Jun-Hee, looking amused.

Ah-Jong smiled. "He doesn't seem too afraid though," she replied, playfully. "He must be just as brave."

"When it comes to mischief, his bravery is legend. But secretly, he's a bit nervous regarding Geum Jan-Di. That's fun to watch as I've never seen it before."

"Nervous?! How? He seems so relaxed all the time."

"For instance, when planning this date, he spent so much energy on trying to find something special and was so agitated about it that **I** ended up being nervous, too. Even the place where they will take lunch has been subject to a lot of debate. Eventually he made a reservation at The Urban Flower," she said, laughing. "It has opened only recently," she continued, noticing that Ah-Jong didn't seem to know about it, "and it is a very... special combination between a garden and urban art. I mean... well, if Geum Jan-Di won't like it, at least they'll have something to laugh about."

Ah-Jong wanted to know more about Jun-Pyo, so she kept questioning his sister as discretely as she could. But since she had to satisfy Jun-Hee's equally great curiosity about Jan-Di, she had to talk even more, and she praised her friend in every way she could. However, it became apparent that Jun-Hee was already inclined to like her after everything she had heard about her.

"It's not only Jun-Pyo that has been impressed with Geum Jan-Di. His three friends and accomplices like her too. Ji-Hoo told me that she's very smart, and I should believe him because he's a genius himself. Have you met my brother's friends, Oh Ah-Jong?"

"Oh... yes," replied the girl, unsure what to say. "Actually, I didn't **really** meet them. Except, maybe, for Lee Woo-Bin. I've only seen the other two at Jan-Di's school."

To talk about their clashes, as she called them, was impossible. However, she felt herself blush a little, and she thought that Jun-Hee noticed, or maybe she already knew the whole story from the boys.

"They can be overwhelming sometimes," Jun-Hee observed, "but they're nice boys deep inside."

Though she couldn't comment anything aloud, Ah-Jong smiled, contemplating the immeasurable depth at which their niceness must have lain.

"Very, very deep inside, right?" said Jun-Hee with a pleasant laugh.

"If they like Jan-Di," replied Ah-Jong, blushing at how easily she had been read, "then they must be nice." And after saying it, she thought there was some sense in this idea.

Jun-Hee was rather amused by her brother's behavior. Listening to her, Ah-Jong couldn't help but like that punk herself. There was a mixture of warmth and jest in the way his sister talked about him, that put him in a very pleasant light. The best thing was that Jun-Hee seemed to believe that Jun-Pyo really cared about Jan-Di.

At the same time, Jun-Hee herself was an object of keen interest to Ah-Jong. Beside being amazingly beautiful, she was pleasant and friendly and made Ah-Jong forget her initial nervousness and feel comfortable. She talked with the same ease and wit as her brother and had a natural elegance that Ah-Jong had rarely seen. Except in her own mother. At some point in the conversation, it struck her how much Jun-Hee seemed to resemble Sun-Hee in that respect, and she almost chuckled when she realized that even their names were similar, as if they were sisters.

An hour later, Gu Jun-Hee was preparing to leave, when Sun-Hee entered the tea shop. Having finished her lessons for today, she had come to pick up her daughter and take her to lunch. As Oh Shi-Wan was out of town again, filming, the two of them had decided to give themselves a treat at a restaurant instead of cooking.

"Do you know my brother, Mrs. Choi Sun-Hee?" asked Jun-Hee after Ah-Jong had introduced her as Jun-Pyo's sister.

"Not personally, but I've heard about him from Jan-Di. I understand that he's one of the famous Four Musketeers at Seungcheon."

"Yes, he is," laughed Jun-Hee. "And they're very proud of their name. But... have we met before? I feel that we have."

"No, that's not very likely," answered Sun-Hee with a calm smile. "Where could we meet?"

Jun-Hee smiled. "Perhaps... I've seen you at an art event? Oh Ah-Jong told me that you run an art school."

"That's possible," said Sun-Hee. "Are you interested in art?"

"I'll admit this: I'm much less interested than I ought to be. Still, I can't avoid the most fashionable exhibitions or concerts."

"Of course not," laughed Sun-Hee, appearing to understand. "But... I rarely go to them. More often, I prefer the smaller galleries or theaters. They're full of pleasant surprises."

Not many minutes later, the conversation ended, and Jun-Hee walked out. Ah-Jong and Sun-Hee waited for the owners to return and take over the tea shop, and they left as well.

After a short drive, they reached a small restaurant and sat down at a table by the window.

While on their way, the girl had already brought her mother up to date with the news about Jan-Di and Gu Jun-Pyo. As well as her daughter, Sun-Hee had been surprised but had thought it perfectly natural that Jan-Di would be liked by a boy, regardless of how rich he was.

"However," she had commented, "it won't be easy for Jan-Di. I don't think that Gu Jun-Pyo's parents will be happy about their relationship."

"Why wouldn't they be if their son is happy?!"

"I agree with you, but in such families as his, this is not the only thing that's taken into account. Personal relationships are often business relationships as well. It's likely that his parents would much rather have him go out with the daughter of another large company owner, preferably one that could help their own businesses."

"In this case, what should Jan-Di do?"

"That's not for us to say. Either choice has its own risks. But does Jan-Di really like him?"

"I think she does, but she won't admit it."

At the restaurant, as they were waiting for their food, the waiter brought them two glasses of juice, and they sipped their drinks in silence for a while.

"Mom," said Ah-Jong, "what would you do if I fell in love with a really poor boy?"

"That depends," answered Sun-Hee, playfully. "Is he good at his studies?"

"I'm not talking about anyone in particular," smiled Ah-Jong. "But let's say that he weren't good at his studies either."

"My dear, I can't really put myself in such a hypothetical situation. But I can tell you that I wouldn't reject him based on his wealth; or lack of it."

"Then what would make you reject him?"

"Perhaps... something that could cause you to be unhappy in the future. Although I know you, Ah-Jong. You have good instincts. Whomever you'll fall in love with will be worth it."

"Thank you, mom! When I talk to you I feel strangely rational, although everyone assures me that I'm not."

"I didn't say you were rational," Sun-Hee teased her. "I said you had good instincts. But let's not stray from the subject. Which boy were you referring to just earlier?"

"Nobody in particular," answered Ah-Jong. "I was trying to put myself in Gu Jun-Pyo's place."

"Then you should have asked about a poor boy who's very good at school."

"Yes, you're right. I think I was trying to get every rational reason out of the way and see if you'd go with only my feelings. However, you have a point. Jan-Di is very smart and hard-working, and she has a good shot at a successful future."

"I think she does. It might not be enough for Gu Jun-Pyo's family, but I think their son would not be worse off with Jan-Di than with a wealthier girl."

"No, I'm sure he wouldn't be if he were smart enough!"

"Do you think he isn't?"

"It's just... they come from such different world... What if he suddenly decides that he doesn't like Jan-Di anymore? I'm afraid that she'd suffer."

"My dear, that's always a risk when feelings are involved. And it could happen just as well with someone on our own social level. You should let Jan-Di make her choices. There's nothing you can do, especially if she loves him."

Ah-Jong remained silent for a while. Did Jan-Di love him? If she did – and she certainly didn't seem indifferent – there was nothing to do about it. Going against her feelings would have been the worst idea, in any case. And what could happen? Jun-Pyo liked her. Ah-Jong thought she could be pretty sure about it. His parents **had** to like her, too, even if she wasn't at their financial level. If they knew Jan-Di, what parents in their right mind wouldn't want her for their son?

These thoughts made her recall her mother's painting of the two mockingbirds and the feeling of warmth that it gave her.

"Mom, do you remember the painting that we had in our living room with the two birds sitting on a rock?"

"Yes, I do," answered Sun-Hee, smiling. "I think I still have it somewhere. What made you think of it?"

"This talk about love. Those two birds looked so comfortable, having only each other and a bare rock. When I was little, I thought of it as a happy picture, but now I find it romantic, too."

"It is romantic! I painted myself and your father there."

"Really?!" exclaimed Ah-Jong. "So you're... one of the mockingbirds! And the other is dad!"

"Yes, and we only had a bare rock back then. But we were very happy."

Ah-Jong smiled. "I could see that in the painting. You drew it very well. You're a really good painter, mom."

"Thank you! I'm not **very** good, but I like to hear that from you."

"But you are!" insisted the girl. "Didn't you ever try to sell your paintings?"

"I did sell a few, before I started the school. But I didn't earn much from them."

"Why not? Didn't any rich people want to buy them?"

"No," laughed Sun-Hee, "they had no attractions for rich people. I was neither a famous artist, nor a young, promising teenager."

"If you had painted mockingbirds, they would have bought them."

"Why do you think that?" asked Sun-Hee, surprised.

"Because they're you, and you put a lot of yourself in them. That's why that painting is so beautiful."

Her mother smiled. "You're right. Art is most beautiful when it contains the artist's feelings. But I'd never sell something with so many of my feelings in it. I wouldn't be able to part with it. That's not very business-like, I'm afraid, but there you are."

"Did you make other mockingbird paintings?"

"No. No, that was the only one."


	10. Chapter 10 Invitations

"She's what?" asked Iy-Jung, his mouth stretched from dimple to dimple, while his friends leaned over, grinning knowingly.

"My girlfriend," answered Jun-Pyo, "but she's not ready to admit it yet."

Ji-Hoo saw Jan-Di entering the cafeteria, carefully ignoring them. That's how she had behaved after her first date with Jun-Pyo, but now, she seemed even more embarrassed.

She had good reason to be. Everyone knew about the two of them going out on Sunday, and almost no one was attempting to hide their curiosity and the fact that they were continuously talking about it. And this had been going on for some days, ever since Jan-Di's conspicuous invitation in the middle of the cafeteria. Ji-Hoo didn't know what had amused him more ad that time: the girl's flurry in the face of embarrassment or the fact that, up until that moment, Jun-Pyo had assured them all that he would refuse her and humiliate her in public.

Of course, neither he nor his other two friends had believed one word of it. Iy-Jung had already told them his own version of the Dreamland date, after Jun-Pyo had declared it _"not bad"_.

"He's **toast**," Iy-Jung had said. "Crunchy and buttered, ready to be swallowed whole."

But when anticipating the invitation, they had thought Jun-Pyo would try to be less obvious, or at least a little embarrassed, by the fact that he had kept lying and refusing to admit that he actually wanted to date Jan-Di.

The night before, Ji-Hoo had called Jun-Pyo to find out about the date, but his friend had been skillfully evasive and obviously happy. He must have wanted to tell them all at once.

"I'm glad that **you** finally admitted," Ji-Hoo told him, still watching Jan-Di. "Your strategy worked like a charm."

"Stop smirking," said his Jun-Pyo, but he didn't look disturbed at all.

"The mighty wolf Jun-Pyo got swept away by a little Red Riding Hood," Woo-Bin took over the teasing.

"She's even mightier," replied Ji-Hoo.

"Laugh all you want," said Jun-Pyo with indifference, and when noticing the girl he immediately shouted, "Jan-Di!"

She turned to look at him and then turned again toward the table where Min-Hee and Ji-Sook were sitting. Getting up, Jun-Pyo went over and dragged her to his own table. From all over the cafeteria, eyes were watching them, and heads came together to comment. Of course they would. This must have been the surprise couple of the decade for Seungcheon.

The three boys greeted her with smiles, friendly and amused at the same time.

Although Jun-Pyo's feelings were obvious to him, Ji-Hoo wasn't sure what to think about Jan-Di. _Does __she__ like him? _She was too flustered to suggest indifference, but that could also be because she knew that she was the talk of the school.

"How did you like the Urban Garden yesterday, Geum Jan-Di?" he asked.

"It was... nice."

"Really?" asked Ji-Hoo, raising is eyebrows.

"Well... a little weird."

The boys chuckled.

"It's more than a little weird," said Woo-Bin. "But it's the newest, hottest place in town, so you must say that it's state of the art."

"It's already supposed to be art," smiled Jan-Di. "I can't say state of the art art."

"I think she's learning something from us," said Woo-Bin, satisfied.

"And how did this punk behave?" asked Iy-Jung.

"He was his usual self," said the girl.

"Jun-Pyo," said Iy-Jung, "do you really think your usual self will impress a girl like Geum Jan-Di?"

"Yes," replied his friend. "Don't you find me charming?"

"I don't. I wouldn't go on a date with you for anything."

"I only went because he forced me," said Jan-Di.

Ji-Hoo couldn't keep a short laugh from coming out. She was perfectly capable to stand her ground when it came to teasing. If she and Jun-Pyo really ended up together, he sensed a lot of entertainment coming up.

"Everyone heard how you begged me!" Jun-Pyo exclaimed with gleeful outrage.

Blushing, Jan-Di threw him frown, and Ji-Hoo encouraged her in his mind. _Come on, don't let him get you!_

Jun-Pyo chuckled and leaned closer to take her hand. "So where should we go this weekend?"

She quickly snatched her hand away and mumbled something about having to study.

"But you'll be at Jardin à la Française this Saturday, won't you?" asked Iy-Jung.

"What happens at Jardin à la Française this Saturday?"

"Fancy dinner," Woo-Bin answered her. "But there won't be too many of us, so don't worry."

"Oh... I don't know... Thank you for inviting me, but..."

"Of course you're coming," interrupted Jun-Pyo. "I want to be there with my girlfriend."

"I'm not...," said Jan-Di, a little too loud. "I'm not your girlfriend," she continued in a lower voice.

Exchanging amused glances, the other boys assured her that they didn't believe it either.

"We know you can't be this punk's girlfriend," said Ji-Hoo. "You're too smart for him."

"Don't worry, Jan-Di. You just come to have dinner with us, not as his girl."

"Yes, we're inviting **you,** separately."

"Invite my girlfriend separately, Iy-Jung, and you'll see what happens."

"If I come, can I bring someone?" asked Jan-Di, with a wicked smile.

"What?!" exclaimed Jun-Pyo.

"Of course you can," said Woo-Bin. "Bring whomever you want. We'd like to meet him."

"You'll bring **me**," stated Jun-Pyo. "They have already met me, so that will spare some introductions."

"We like meeting new people," said Ji-Hoo.

"Yes, let her bring him," added Iy-Jung.

"Who's him?!" asked Jun-Pyo, outraged and confused.

_He must really like her if he's that stupid..._

"You'll see on Saturday," said the girl.

"Yah!" exclaimed Jun-Pyo.

"So you're coming?" asked Woo-Bin.

"No..." She was suddenly uncertain and embarrassed again. "I... don't think I'll be able to."

"We'll talk about this in private," said Jun-Pyo.

* * *

Ah-Jong closed her eyes and inhaled the scented air of the beautiful end of May night. She had just spent an hour at her father's climbing wall and was full of energy. Now, she was together with Jan-Di at Mundo de los Helados, enjoying a late night ice cream.

"I'm buying," Ah-Jong had said when she had proposed the place. "I sold a tote bag today; one that I painted at mom's class. I practically spent no time making it since that was class anyway."

Jan-Di had been so happy about her latest test results that she had decided to give up one evening of studying. Instead, she had pick up her friend from the climbing wall to spend some time with her. It was eleven at night, and the weather was so warm that they were sitting outside, on the terrace.

For the past half hour, they had chatted about their friends, whom Jan-Di hadn't seen for the past few weeks, and about how Ah-Jong's grades had improved, even if not too much. But the subject that really interested Ah-Jong was Jun-Pyo. So far, she hadn't asked, but she was very curious to know if anything new had happened during the past two days. On Sunday evening, she and Jan-Di had talked on the phone and her friend seemed to be very happy about how the date had gone, although she still preferred to insist that she wasn't his girlfriend.

Eventually, it was Jan-Di herself who opened the subject.

"I have an invitation for you," she said all of a sudden.

"What invitation?" asked Ah-Jong with an eager smile.

"Actually it's from Jun-Pyo."

"Oh! What is it?"

"Fancy dinner," grinned Jan-Di. "The guys... you know, the foursome... they're organizing a dinner because Gu Jun-Hee returned from London and a friend of Iy-Jung's, who studies abroad, is also in Seoul for a few days. And both Jun-Pyo and his sister wanted me to invite you, too."

"Oh... that..." stuttered Ah-Jong, surprised. Then, she realized what Jan-Di was saying. "Gu Jun-Pyo is taking you out to dinner with his friends?" she continued, grinning. "That sounds... official!"

"He's not taking me out! Nothing is official!" exclaimed Jan-Di, looking flustered. "The guys invited me. All of them. You'll come too, right?"

"It sounds... scary," answered Ah-Jong with an uncertain chuckle. "But... why would they want to invite me?"

"Because you're my best friend and because Gu Jun-Hee liked you very much. Oh, please come! If you don't, then I'll be really scared."

"I... have nothing to wear."

"Yes you do. You have party clothes, don't you?"

"I do, but not the kind **they'll** be wearing."

The idea was pretty much panicking her. The last thing she wanted was to meet some of those people again.

"I know but... I mean, they don't expect us to be branded from head to toe, do they," said Jan-Di, alarmed. "Jun-Pyo told me that I shouldn't think too much about the clothes. Please, Ah-Jong, come with me! It'll be fun! And I want them to really meet you and see how cool and fun you are."

"Thank you! Though since you're my best friend, your evaluation is completely unreliable," said Ah-Jong with an awkward chuckle. "I don't think... You said yourself that we're from very different worlds."

She realized that she had made a mistake when she saw how agitated Jan-Di had become and how uncertain she was now about going to the dinner herself. Therefore, she had to give in and to convince her friend that it was going to be a fun evening.

Still, she felt very uncomfortable with the idea. Only the thought of seeing those boys again – and in such a setting! – filled her with dread. Kang Ji-Woo's face when they had last met came to her mind. How would he behave when they met again? Her heart rate was going mad just from imagining it.

But soon, she managed to cheer herself up. She wouldn't care about Kang Ji-Hoo; or about So Iy-Jung, who only liked beautiful, high-class women. After all, Jan-Di would be there, and so would Gu Jun-Hee.

"Are other girls are coming, beside Gu Jun-Hee," she asked and held her breath for the answer.

"Iy-Jung's friend will be one. Then Han Cho-Hee and Kim Se-Yeon. See what worries me? And Lee Jung-Hwa, also from our school. She's not very nice..."

Well... Apparently, not much joy could be expected from that quarter either.

"We'll probably have to wear something resembling cocktail dresses," said Ah-Jong, trying to take her mind to a more useful direction. "I'll ask mom about it."

"Oh, yes! Ask auntie. She'll know," said Jan-Di, hopeful.

* * *

Ah-Jong didn't think her mother liked the idea too much. Not that Sun-Hee said anything of that sort. But her daughter had expected her to be enthusiastic, and instead, she only looked hesitant. It lasted for just a few moments, after which she started to say how fun it was going to be, and to talk Jan-Di out of her anxiety. Then, she gave the girls a crash course in dining etiquette.

Ah-Jong realized that most of the information wasn't new and that Sun-Hee had always gently instructed her. On the other hand, Jan-Di was really fretting over the number of rules and exceptions.

"I know it's a little confusing at first, sweetheart," Sun-Hee told her. "But don't worry. If you're not sure, just watch what the others do."

After the lesson was done, the girls helped clear the demonstration tableware from the dinner table and then settled in Ah-Jong's room to obsess some more about the big event.

"I'm so grateful to auntie for telling us these things," said Jan-Di, after some minutes spent indulging her panic. "Now I can hope I won't do something completely clumsy."

Ah-Jong hesitated. "Yes... It's lucky that she knows everything about formal dinners. And a bit weird, too," she added with her impish eyebrow raise.

"Ah-Jong, don't start again," said Jan-Di, smiling and rolling her eyes.

"It is! She knows too much about things she doesn't care about."

"She doesn't know _'too much'_. Auntie just had a very good education. You've made up an entire story from some little, unimportant things."

"But there are many of them. A heap of little things can be as big as a big thing."

Ah-Jong was glad about this change of subject. For one thing, it was taking her mind away from this dinner that was looming increasingly ominously with all her efforts to calm herself down. But beside that, she was always finding it entertaining to try guessing what she imagined to be her mother's hidden past.

Choi Sun-Hee's parents had owned a small clothes shop in Busan, and she had been involved in their business for a while, years ago. However, she had decided that it was not what she wanted to do in life. What she wanted was to study fine arts and music, and eventually, when Sun-Hee was in her early thirties, her parents agreed to allow her to move to Seoul and to go to an arts university. After they had passed away, she had sold the business.

Ah-Jong had never met her grandparents, as they had died right after her birth. All she had of them was a picture and her mother's stories.

On some points, these stories were detailed enough, but on some others, though she kept pestering Sun-Hee with questions, Ah-Jong wasn't able to obtain the quantity of information that her curiosity demanded. Every time she asked, Sun-Hee would cheerfully say something that her daughter declared to be too vague, and skillfully change the subject at the first opportunity.

After deciding that here was something worth investigating, Ah-Jong had started to notice several instances of her mother's behavior that she labeled _'strange'_. Eventually, she had concocted a theory and shared it with Jan-Di.

"Mom was supposed to marry someone from a rich family. Either she was in love with him, or, more likely, grandpa and grandma must have had some high ambitions for her. I think they brought her up for a much higher social level than this."

"All parents want their children to improve their social level," Jan-Di had replied. "You're making it more than it is."

"Yes, but mom told me that all they wanted was for her to continue their business. And it was a small shop, so they didn't need to invest so much in her upbringing. Did they? I think it must have needed a lot of investment."

"Well... I don't know. Maybe they... just wanted her to be well educated. What do you mean they didn't need to invest in her upbringing?" Jan-Di had asked, a little disconcerted. "My parents raised money for me to go to Seungcheon. That's a big investment too, and it's not because they set their eyes on some rich guy they want for a son-in-law."

"Yes... Maybe I didn't say that very well... I'll try to explain it better. There are several small things that got me to this idea. Mom was supposed to inherit a small shop and run it, but she seems to know things about running a large company, too. For instance... once, there was a feature on TV about a new cosmetics brand launched by _Cleopatra,_ and mom said that the change in the company's management had been quick to show. Do you remember that? When Hyun-Jae talked about this brand I made the same comment to her."

"Yes," Jan-Di had chuckled, "you were very informed and important."

"I know. That's when I was cured of ever repeating mom's words without understanding them." Ah-Jong had laughed, recalling how much her friends had made fun of her. "Anyway, that's only one example. There were several other times when I've heard her saying something like that about some of the large companies."

"So what does that mean? Maybe she knows things from watching business news."

"Mom doesn't care about the business news. So where could she learn how large businesses are run if she only watches business news occasionally and ran just a small shop in Busan? Plus Raw Imagination, which not exactly a national chain either."

"How can you tell that she knows about managing large companies since **you** know nothing about managing large companies?"

"It just seems like it."

Jan-Di had laughed.

"She knows!" Ah-Jong had insisted.

"Ok. She knows. But from that to believing that she was supposed to marry a rich guy? Maybe she was taught these things because your grandparents wanted her to grow their business."

"It could be. However, it's not just about what she knows. Although she doesn't care about business news in general, sometimes, I see her really focused on some feature. As if she's only interested in that particular piece of information."

"There's nothing strange about being interested in **some** kind of business information. After all, she runs a business."

"One of those features was about Cleopatra, which is in cosmetics; another about No Frontier Investments, which has something to do with Internet and virtual reality; another was about Cytherea – and not their clothes, which I would also be very interested in, but their stock market value or something like that. Another feature was about Wang Constructions. And so on. These companies are from some random industries and have nothing to do with mom."

"So why do you think she watches news about them?"

"Maybe there are certain **persons** that she wants to hear about. The persons behind those companies. Maybe they are people she knew in the past, and whom she could have met through a man she had a relationship with. It makes sense. And there's one other thing," she had continued, ignoring Jan-Di's expression that seemed to have the word _'crazy'_ carved into it. "There were a couple of times when I happened to catch her looking through the window of some luxury store or café with a strange expression on her face."

"Maybe she was wishing for a nice pair of shoes or a delicious piece of cake."

"That's what she says when I ask her what she's looking at. Maybe it's true in some of the cases, but her explanation doesn't always sound right. She points at an object, saying that's it, but I've seen her looking in a different direction. I think sometimes she's watching the people."

Her string of 'clues' hadn't managed to convince Jan-Di, but whenever Ah-Jong brought the subject up, her friend would go along with it. It was pretty entertaining for both of them.

Today was no exception. Although Jan-Di acted exasperated to hear the subject brought up again, Ah-Jong knew that she liked to talk about it, even though she didn't believe in the story. As for Ah-Jong herself, she didn't even think of whether she believed it or not. She just loved the idea.

"Something new happened," said Ah-Jong, sitting on her bed with her legs crossed and grinning with satisfaction.

"Beside today's lesson? What is it?" asked Jan-Di, settling on her chair and imitating her friend's position.

"Firstly, last Sunday, she met Gu Jun-Hee, and Gu Jun-Hee thought she had seen mom before."

"Really?!"

"Mom denied, but she looked away for a moment. I don't think she was entirely truthful. Later, after we had lunch, we walked by the Toulouse-Lautrec Café, and she did it again. She took a long look inside and I was sure she was watching two ladies who looked as if they had just descended from a fashion magazine."

"Maybe she knew them," shrugged Jan-Di, although she didn't seem to believe it very likely.

"How could she? They couldn't look more different from our friends. And if she did know them, why not say so?"

"Auntie has always said that money and success are only worth a moderate effort," replied Jan-Di, thoughtfully. "Do you think she's more attracted by the rich people's life than she wants to admit?"

"No, she likes her life. But maybe she recalls something from her past when she sees rich people."

"And maybe that something is a man whom your grandparents wanted her to marry, but whom she rejected because she was in love with uncle," said Jan-Di, hugging herself and smiling sweetly. "But now that her parents passed away, she's sorry for disappointing them, although she realizes that she'd do it all over again."

"That's very good Jan-Di!" laughed Ah-Jong. "You're getting better and better at this. But... now I have to say that it's also possible she was in love with that man. Or, at least, she **thought** herself in love before she met dad. And that man rejected her, stupid as it may seem."

"Huh! What makes you say that?! Before, you didn't want to believe that auntie could be in love with anyone else. And rejected?! Where did that come from?"

"Well... she met dad when she was in her thirties. So she **might** have fancied someone else before. And I began to suspect that because of something else that happened a couple of weeks ago. I didn't think much of it at first, but it's different now because I think mom wasn't entirely truthful about that either."

And she started to talk about the two mockingbird paintings, describing everything she remembered. After that, she told Jan-Di of her conversation with Sun-Hee, when she had found out that her mother had drawn herself as the bird.

"Auntie said she only drew one mockingbird," Jan-Di pointed out.

"Yes, but she looked like was hiding something when she said it."

"Or maybe you **want** to believe that," said Jan-Di, teasingly.

"Maybe," accepted Ah-Jong with a smile. "But you know that mom isn't a very good liar. I can tell when she's hiding something."

"I have to admit that you usually catch the scent of secrets pretty well. Still, it's a bit far-fetched, isn't it. What could your mom's painting do in Se-Yeon's house? It could be just a coincidence. There must be lots of paintings with mockingbirds in them."

"There are. I looked them up on the Internet. But if I remember them well, these two mockingbirds looked the same. I'd love to see Kim Se-Yeon's painting again. If you're ever there, would you take a photo?"

"I don't see Kim Se-Yeon inviting me to her house," said Jan-Di, smirking.

"She might since you're Gu Jun-Pyo's girlfriend."

"Yah! I'm not his girlfriend!" shouted Jan-Di, throwing a pen at Ah-Jong.

"I'm sorry," said Ah-Jong, amused. "I take that back."

"Don't smile like this! Just because he said so, it doesn't mean I am."

"But you'll go to a fancy dinner with him."

"So what? The others invited me. I told you. That's why I'm going."

"I see. In this case, don't worry about my painting."

"Do you think we'll be ok at this dinner, Ah-Jong?"

"Of course! What's the worst that can happen?"


End file.
